


On Her Majesty's Martian Service

by Daegaer



Category: Fix Bay'nets - George Manville Fenn
Genre: Action/Adventure, British Empire, British Empire in Space, Class Issues, Friendship, Gay Victorian Soldiers on Mars, Imperialism, M/M, Mars, Martian animals, Martians, Soldiers, Victorian Attitudes, Victorian Science Fiction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2003-11-01
Updated: 2003-11-30
Packaged: 2017-11-04 17:21:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 71,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/396306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Daegaer/pseuds/Daegaer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In an alternate 19th century, the soldiers of the 404th Regiment of Fusiliers journey to British-held Mars to safeguard the empire.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My 2003 NaNoWriMo. Incomplete. Cover art by Windfallswest.

**In which Her Royal Majesty's 404th Regiment of Fusiliers leave London for their tour of duty in the solar system**

 

The men crowded onto the train shifted back and forth with every uneven movement of the carriages, keeping their kit bags close at hand. All of them were natives of the capital city, all had spent the previous six months outside the city, in hard training since their enlistment. Now they had returned to the city of their birth, but only to leave it once more. Their thin faces were pale and drawn, their frames boyish in the extreme, lending to them the appearance of boys several years younger than their actual ages. The company doctor had shaken his head over many of them, opining that more training and more food would give then the stature of men, had they but had such things during their childhoods. All of them had listened politely, with varying degrees of comprehension, unsure of what he meant other than the fact that all of them looked up when talking to an officer or a gentleman. None of them had ever considered such matters before, seeing them as the natural order of things, and few of them considered the matter long after the doctor had bemoaned their physical degeneracy, seeing little profit in so doing.

''Ere, Bill,' said one of them. 'Is it true that things lose their weight on them flyin' ships?'

'I can't s'y as I'm what yer might call a hexpert on the mechanics of space flyin',' said the young soldier so addressed, looking round quickly, and seeing none of the non-commissioned officers, removing his helmet to scratch vigorously at his close cropped pale sandy hair. 'But I've heard such like about them ships, yes. Yer'll have to watch out or your pay'll fly out of your pockets, Fred.'

'It'll fly out of his pockets long before we leave, if we get a chance to get the cards out,' said another soldier, grinning amiably.

'That's what you think,' cried Fred, 'I'm better at any game you might care to mention than you, that's fer sure.'

'Hssst,' hissed Bill, jamming his helmet back on his head and assuming a straighter position, 'here comes that old Gee.'

The man in question came stalking down the central aisle, looking from one side to another to see if any of the boys had carried out an action for which he deserved a reprimand. He was no older than the other soldiers in years, but seemed immeasurably older than them in the way in which he carried himself, stiff and eager to stamp out all evidence of youthful high spirits. Songs died out when the sergeant came near, and most of the soldiers assumed, from sheer habit, an expression of guilt and dread. The sergeant's fearful reputation was compounded by his having taken, as soon as he had gained his stripes, a wife of as young an age but as fearful an aspect as himself. Not one of the soldiers found it within them to keep an unquailed heart, should the redoubtable Mrs Gee meet their eye. All of them had taken a fearful oath that they should never fall ill, never suffer a wound that might bring them under the care of Mrs Gee, who acted in the capacity of a nurse to the doctor, terrifying, so the men said, the diseases right out of a body's systems.

At the moment, however, they drove all thought of Mrs Gee from their minds, fearing as it were that their thoughts should be written on their young faces to be read by that redoubtable lady's youthful husband.

'When we disembark from the train,' cried Sgt Gee –

'—he means when we gerroff,' whispered one soldier to his mate.

'When we disembark,' said Gee again, fixing the soldier who had spoken with such a look that the lad turned pale, 'you will see your superior officers and your families, who will have come to see you off. So you will give them a good show, with no marching out of step, do I make myself clear, Wilson?'

'Yes, sergeant,' said that unhappy lad quietly.

'And no clowning around making a monkey out of yourselves neither, do you understand me, Gedge?' continued the sergeant.

'Yes, Sergeant Gee,' cried that fellow who had been addressed by his friends as 'Bill.' He waited until the sergeant had turned to terrify another man and then grimaced horribly like the monkeys they had all seen at one time or another in the Zoological Gardens. Although the sergeant whipped round almost before the soldiers round about Gedge had even needed to stifle laughter, Gedge's face was as blank and innocent as only a very guilty soldier's could be.

'I have my eye on you, sir,' said the sergeant.

Gedge's face remained innocent, provoking one of his friends finally to laugh, and thereby giving the sergeant an opportunity to dress him down sharply. It was with some relief that they saw the train draw in at last.

'Leave your kit bags,' said the sergeant, 'they'll be put on the transport for you. All you shower have to do now is not make me ashamed of you in front of the officers. Because if you do –' he let his voice trail off in a tone of direst threat.

The moment the train had stopped they rushed out and formed themselves into neat ranks on the platform. Other trains were pulling in and disgorging more soldiers onto the other platforms. From the better carriages they saw the offices alighting and coming down to inspect them. The most senior of the officers stood in a little knot, talking amongst themselves, while the two most junior, Captain Roberts and Lieutenant Bracy stepped towards them smartly, chatting as they came. They drew to a halt before the assembled men and looked them over with expert eyes, before speaking in low voices to the sergeants.

Captain Roberts swept his dark gaze over the men and smiled at them in a carefree manner that had made him popular with them.

"Well, let's not dawdle, lads,' said Captain Roberts loudly, 'do you want your families to think the Army can't run on time? We must get on the transport sharply, and get about our duty as fast as it will take us. And let's make them remember us, hey? And forget the regiments that have marched out ahead of us!'

The men raised a hearty British cheer and proclaimed themselves more than ready to march. Roberts and Bracy looked them over appraisingly and nodded in approval. The more senior officer had by now gone, to deal with any problems that might arise with the transport. Roberts and Bracy fell in at their head, and Roberts nodded to Sergeant Gee.

'Shoulder arms!' cried Gee smartly.

As one the men obeyed with alacrity, their rifles being clapped into place.

'By the left – quick march!'

The men swung into the march with practiced ease, even poor little Wilson, who had had the very greatest difficulty in distinguishing his left from his right ever since the school master had beaten him daily until he at last stopped attempting to use his left hand in the writing exercises, showing no deviation in his martial gait. They came out of the station straight into the great dockyard. A cheer rose from the crowd waiting for them, and the soldiers did their best to locate their families, their proud fathers and weeping mothers, their envious brothers and sisters and their unfortunate friends, judged too short or too sickly to have enlisted with them, and all without moving more than their eyes to aid them in the search for fear of the wrath of Sergeant Gee. The great crowd of Londoners in their Sunday best continued their cheering and waving handkerchiefs at their smartly-turned out sons and brothers. The Army band that had been playing without cease ever since the trains' loads of infantry men had begun their march to the transport kept playing its martial air, the skirl of the Scotch pipes rising merrily above the hubbub of the people.

The men marched towards the great doors of the transport ship that lay open awaiting them, many with shortened breath and fearful imaginings, for their journey would be long and was beyond the comprehension of most of them in distance and hazard. All of them had spent sleepless nights, whispering to each other in the dark of pirates and hideous creatures that might seize upon the ship in the depths of space, just as stories told of huge and unnatural serpents that might seize upon a ship at sea. Now there was no more time to think of such horrors, for the doors of the ship were dead ahead, lying below what would have been the plimsoll line on a ship designed to sail upon earthly seas.

'Oh, I wonder if a body can drown in space, the way as he can in water,' thought Gedge, keeping his worry from his face. 'And if them doors might let space in the way as they would let in water. I oughter have taken that position in that public house, no matter what me mother said. It would have been closer to her and the pay was jest fine.'

The moment they had entered the ship and were out of view of the crowd, Sergeant Gee was haranguing them in his usual brusque manner.

'Quick, now! Get your gear stowed and your arms safe locked away before you try to get up to the rails to see your people! Double time, there! Wilson! Start on the left foot, sir!'

'Yes, Sergeant! Sorry, Sergeant!' cried that unfortunate, fleeing with the others.

The metal corridors of the transport ship reverberated with the clatter of running men, rushing to hand over their arms for the duration of the voyage and to check that their kit bags had indeed been delivered safely or were in the process of being delivered. After what seemed an eternity but was in actuality a mere matters of minutes the young soldiers were released by their sergeants to fight for a few inches of space at the rails so that they might wave to their families and friends below. The 404th jostled and squabbled with other regiments, finally ousting some lads from York from their favoured position on the grounds that they were in London now and should defer to London lads, and there were more of the London lads besides. Before the squabble could turn serious a sergeant was sighted and the York lads contented themselves with dark looks and darker mutterings. The young soldiers cheered and waved with great energy at the crowds, endeavouring to pick out their own people from the great mass of humanity that cheered and waved back.

''Ere,' said Gedge to his comrades, 'hold my belt.' And, upon feeling friendly hands grasp him, he leant out dangerously far over the rail and swept off his helmet, waving it wildly at his mother whom he had just spied. 'Mam! Mam! God bless yer, Mam!'

'You drop that and I'll take its price out of your hide, Gedge,' said Sergeant Gee from behind him, making poor Gedge almost lose his grasp on the helmet at once. His friends pulled him back to safety at once, shamefaced. The sergeant gave them what might almost pass for a smile and went on his way, to their astonishment.

Far below they heard the doors of the ship clang shut and shortly thereafter the engines started up, making the whole ship shudder mightily with their dull roaring sound. Leaning out again, although not so far this time, Gedge saw the dockhands running about frantically, casting off the great hawsers that tethered the ship tightly to the earth. After another few minutes the ship lurched strangely and began to rise. The soldiers clung to the rails or each other, only their desire not to alarm their families or to shame themselves in front of their fellows keeping some of them from crying out in fear. The ship rose clumsily at first, making little adjustments as it climbed higher and higher. The people beneath shrank in size to the merest dots and London was laid out before the soldiers' eyes, its vast expanse made clear to them in a way it had never been before, even for lads who had been used to walking miles in search of employment. The light of the sun flashed from the surface of the Thames, and glinted from the roofs of the great churches. The great green swathes of the parks shone out like emerald in the dull grey settings of the buildings and streets. Birds cried out in alarm and swept away from the massive interloper into their airy domain. The soldiers clung to the rails and stared out, silent and open mouthed, not wanting to leave the sight even when the air became colder and the ship's bells began to sound, signalling that people should seek the shelter of the interior. Finally they had to be hunted inside by a pack of sergeants, and chivvied along to stand in a long and uneasy queue to be issued with their ship board shoes, and then in a more cheerful but still quite as long queue for their rations.

'I s'y, pard'ners,' said Gedge cheerfully, mopping up some of the gravy from his stew with a chunk of bread, 'but this doesn't half stand to a body.'

'Why, Bill,' said his friend Fred, 'anyone might think as you joined up jest to eat at 'Er Majesty's expense.'

'Nah,' said Gedge, grabbing the last of the bread, 'I 'listed to serve 'Er Majesty, jest the same as the rest of you. Well, that an' I 'eard they feed a body reg'lar three times a day.'

He sat back happily, full at last, and drained the final drops of his mug of tea. All around him men were looking cheerful and sleepy, the excitement of the ascent having been replaced with the familiar routine of plain food and plenty of it. He stood up, a trifle unsteadily, and said, 'I fancy a bit of a walk round the ship, any of you lads comin' with me?'

'Off you go, Bill,' said one of them, 'Lor' bless your energy, I jest want to sit.'

Gedge collected his tray, ensured that all the items were tightly slotted back in as they had been instructed, and returned it to the ship's mess hall workers. He then shuffled out of the hall and down the corridors towards the rails where he had hung out over the crowd before their ascent. He knew that great shutters had come down over the rails, but hoped that he might find a crack in them, or perhaps a window that he could look out from. The strange motion of the ship as it continued to climb made his dinner move oddly within him. 'Oh,' he thought, 'I hope I won't be sea sick, or I mean to say, space sick.' The thought worried him and he felt his friends should laugh at him for a silly child if he should display such a sign of a weak stomach. He walked along carefully, hating the sensation of the shoes with which he had been issued, the magnets in their soles clinging to the bare iron plates of the deck and making it difficult for a fellow to keep a smart pace.

He reached the rails and was delighted to see he had them to himself, and more delighted yet to find that a plate of thick glass was set in to the iron shutters that were fastened tight across the whole area. He pressed his nose to the glass and peered out, knowing that he should not see London, but hoping that he might see the shape of Britain entire, spread out beneath him just as it was in maps. Alas, the view was not clear and he could see nothing beneath him but clouds. They looked fluffy and solid, more solid than he could have imagined, gleaming white in the bright light of the sun. He tried to see where the sun was in the sky, but the angle of his viewing was wrong. 'I wonder how long it will be before we've left the world entirely,' he thought, and then decided he would not think on that more than he had to, and that it would be more cheerful to return to his fellows and play cards. Accordingly he stepped back from the viewing window, or, that is to say he attempted to step back. Sighing in annoyance he remembered he had to be deliberate in his movements, and lifted a foot with a harsh jerk and placed it behind him, feeling the _click_ as the magnets in the sole re-engaged with the deck.

'Oh, blast these shoes!' he cried.

'You will be glad of them when we have left the gravitational pull of the earth,' said an amused voice behind him.

Gedge jumped in startlement, or he at least would have if he had not been anchored securely to the decking. He turned awkwardly.

'Mr Bracy, sir,' he said, blushing, 'you gave me a bit of a turn, sir.'

Bracy smiled in his pleasant way and stepped forward, sliding his magnetic shoes over the deck to stand beside Gedge. 'It's easier if you work with the forces instead of fighting against them, my lad,' he said. 'Slide your feet along instead of trying to pick them up and you'll find you can walk faster and easier.'

'Yes, sir,' said Gedge, 'but it looks so queer.'

'You become accustomed to it quickly enough,' said Bracy idly, looking out the window.

He laid a hand upon the glass and was silent several moments. Gedge wondered if he should withdraw from the young officer, who gave every indication that he wished to be alone. He had just determined within himself that he would wish the officer a good day when the man turned to him again.

'Were you hoping to see England, Gedge?'

'Yes, sir,' said Gedge. 'It were quite a sight, seeing London laid out like a picture in a book.'

'Quick, then, we are passing a gap in the clouds. Careful! Slide your feet like I said.'

'Yes, sir,' said Gedge, obeying. He pressed his nose back to the glass and saw far, far below an expanse of blue and then brown. 'Oh, sir,' he said, 'Is that England?'

'I do not think so,' said Bracy. 'I think we have journeyed away from England in other ways than simply straight up. Perhaps it is Europe, Gedge, but I feel it is one of the last sights we shall have of the earth for a long time.'

His voice sounded sad, and Gedge looked up at him, noting the sorrowful expression in the blue eyes. After a moment Bracy looked down at him and smiled. 'What a look of care you have, Gedge,' he said teasingly. 'We shall return home, never fear, and we shall see plenty of marvellous things with which to regale our families for years to come.'

'Oh yes, sir, Mr Bracy,' said Gedge, glad that the young officer seemed gay once more, for he was as popular with the men as Captain Roberts and it seemed a poor thing to Gedge that the man should be unhappy. 'They'll envy us back on Earth, sir, they will.'

'That's the spirit, my lad,' laughed Bracy and laid a cheerful hand upon Gedge's shoulder for a moment. 'Now, I must leave you and see that everything has been properly secured in my quarters. You should do likewise, Gedge. You know that loose items will pose a danger once we have entered the ether, and any man who leaves items loose may be put on report.'

'Yes, sir,' said Gedge, 'I've got everything secured, sir, but I'll check everything again. I like everything to be neat and proper.'

'Good lad,' said Bracy, and nodding pleasantly, he left Gedge, walking with a practised slide of his feet back toward the officers' quarters.

Gedge cast one last look out the viewing window, and then, taking Bracy's advice to heart, walked with a queer sliding gait back to his friends, promising himself that he should go directly to check that all his belongings were indeed secured. 'It won't be so bad,' he told himself. 'Why, it'll be more interesting than them poor lads have it in India, anyways.'


	2. Chapter 2

**In which a nasty trick is played, and the Doctor lays out his plan.**

 

After a day's ascent, the transport ship had quite left the gravitational pull of the earth. All persons aboard her had felt themselves become progressively lighter and lighter, and needing more and more clips and hooks and eyes about their persons to keep their clothing in good order. And then finally nothing had any weight at all, and the soldiers could amuse themselves by watching unsecured pens float in mid air. Such entertainment was, however, risky for there was always the chance that it might be observed and the owner of the pen put on report for leaving an item unsecured. Gedge found that he managed to keep his stomach under control, but others of his fellows were not so lucky, and complained of dizziness and sickness. They slid in a despondent, clumsy mass to the doctor, who ordered them to eat only dry food, and poured horrible tasting draughts down their throats and confined the worst cases to the sickbay, where they lay in silent, terrified misery lest they attract the attention of Mrs Gee.

Gedge, however, lay in his own bunk, revelling in the strange feeling of his body floating upwards and restrained only by the safety netting that clipped across each of the narrow beds, and that kept both him and his blankets in place. His dreams at night were of flying, and he felt he was in the greatest comfort. In the mornings it was not so comfortable, as he had to climb with utmost care from his bunk and dress only after he had put on his magnetic soled shipboard shoes, in case he floated away into the centre of the room. That had happened the very first morning to another of the lads. He had seemed most comical, hanging in the air, vainly trying to swim against nothing. Everyone had laughed and pushed him around a bit, but then the poor lad had come over dizzy and had had to be hauled down by his friends and taken off to the doctor, where he still lay until the dizziness should go at last.

As Lieutenant Bracy had said he should, Gedge now blessed his shipboard shoes instead of wishing to throw them out of the nearest porthole. He felt he was becoming proficient indeed at the queer sliding of the feet that provided the quickest and safest method of locomotion about the ship. It was a most unmilitary style of movement, more suited, he thought, to some of the comic turns he loved to see in the music halls, but it was what was needed in the current circumstances. He had in fact, quite convinced himself that he was immune to all forms of sea sickness and space sickness, and went so far as to tell those of his friends that were looking a touch green that it was all in their heads, and if they should just stop acting like girls with the vapours they would feel much better.

Alas for Gedge! For scarcely had he made this pronouncement to his annoyed fellows as the little group of them slid their way between their bunk room and the soldiers mess hall, where they hoped to have a hearty breakfast than they ran into two of the ship's sailors, cutting their way along a corridor the soldiers felt to be Army territory.

'Out of the way, Army boys!' cried one of the sailors, a most disagreeable looking fellow with hair as yellow as straw and as wild. 'Make way for those as knows how to get around a ship!'

'Hah!'' ejaculated Davids, 'you jest make us!'

The sailors glanced at each other with evil grins and took up position in the middle of the corridor.

'Now, Frank,' said the yellow haired one to his comrade, 'these Army boys seem to outnumber us, wouldn't you say?'

'Yes, Bob,' cried the other, 'indeed they do, whatever shall we do?'

'I reckon as we'll have to let them have the right of way along the floor,' said the one addressed as Bob. 'Us poor Navy lads will have to make do with other ways of gettin' by.' So saying he jumped violently upwards, the force quite lifting his shoes from the deck. As he did so his friend reached out and gave him a twirl so that he was head down. With a loud click his shoes fastened to the iron ceiling, and he stood their, upside down, hands on hips and still grinning. 'Come along now, Frank,' he cried, 'where are your manners? You get out of these lads' way.'

'Sorry to have inconvenienced you, gennelmen,' said Frank, and ran lightly up onto the wall, where he crouched like some enormous spider waiting to launch itself out at them.

The boys of the 404th stared at the sailors in a perplexed manner, and then as one seemed to be unable to tell which way was up or down, and felt great dizziness and sickness overcome them. Some attempted to move as quickly as possible along the corridor, but found their confusion increased as Bob kept pace with them on the ceiling, casually sliding along with his hands in his pockets as if he were taking a stroll on a more usual walkway. Finally the unfortunate boys could do little more than huddle together, moaning in an agony of sickness. The sailors laughed heartlessly at their predicament.

'Terrible weak stomachs, you Army boys have,' cried Bob, swaying back and forth on the ceiling. 'I hope you don't expect no Navy personnel to be cleanin' that up.'

'Ah, now don't tease them, Bob,' cried Frank, sliding his way along the wall and making the soldiers screw their eyes tight shut so they did not have to see him. 'They're only young, like a crowd of little girls havin' a fit of the vapours.'

Still laughing, they strolled on their unnatural way, leaving their unhappy victims behind.

'Curse you and your tongue, Bill Gedge,' wept one of the lads huddled on the corridor, before giving way once more to sickness.

'It's not my fault,' Gedge wanted to say, but was too sick to do so.

After some time they managed to control themselves enough to clean up the corridor and creep sadly back to their bunk room to clean themselves also. None of them felt in the slightest bit hungry any more, and felt they would do themselves more good by reporting to the Doctor. Accordingly, as soon as they felt capable of prolonged movement they went in a crowd to join the queue outside his door. That good gentleman reached them eventually, and made them swallow a vile tincture that he said would settle their stomachs, but refused to admit any of them as patients, saying they should recover fully within a short period, if they were sensible and did not horse around. As he said this, he looked sternly at Gedge, who felt quite unjustly persecuted.

'I s'y, pard'ners,' said Gedge as they slid along, warily keeping an eye out for cruel sailors, 'that were a lucky escape! Imagine being trapped in there in the care of old Gee's missus!'

At that moment, the sergeant himself came round the corner. Gedge's friends jabbed him in the ribs with their elbows.

'If we pay for you sayin' that,' hissed Davids, 'I swear I'll cut yer tongue clean out of yer head, Bill.'

Their feared sergeant said nothing to them, however, just looked on them in deep dislike, shaking his head. As they passed him with some nervousness he said, 'Are you coming from the Doctor?'

'Yes, Sergeant Gee,' said Gedge meekly. 'We've been taken ill. He said to rest for the day.'

'Very well,' said the sergeant, 'but I don't expect to see you lot filling your faces with food later on, unless you want me to think you've been malingering.'

Their faces paled and took on a greenish tinge at the mere mention of food, and they shook their heads, very carefully, not trusting themselves to speak. Sergeant Gee nodded and went on his way, and they crept slowly back to their bunks to sleep as best they could.

* * *

Three days out from Earth, one half of all the men were confined to their bunks. One quarter of the total force had been abed for the full three days, one quarter had recovered enough to creep pale and determined about the ship, and one quarter were new cases of space sickness. Only one quarter of the men were unaffected, and seemed to put their luck down to a variety of causes, some swearing on eating dry bread early after rising, some others proclaiming the benefits of black tea, while others claimed it was tea with milk that protected them. Some men looked piously toward Heaven, others produced an array of lucky charms, while many simply crossed their fingers and hoped for the best. 

'A more physically degenerate group of specimens I have never seen before,' said the Doctor, holding forth in the lounge assigned to the officers of the 404th Fusiliers. 'Mere malnourished boys, with no strength in their frames, and less in their minds. I tell you the recruiters were ill advised to accept any of them. Some of them barely make five feet in height, and a man of five feet eight inches may as well be a giant among them. Can the situation on the Moon or Mars be so desperate?'

'Now, Doctor,' laughed Roberts, 'the lads will find their feet soon enough. I am sure we would be seeing the same sicknesses if we were in rough seas.'

'You are too mild, Captain Roberts,' said the Doctor. 'What use will these boys be as soldiers? Another year of training and feeding up might have put some flesh on their scrawny carcasses, might have given them the musculature, if not the stature, of men. Boys, I call them, mere boys, and like as not that is all they will ever be. Will they even have the strength to lift their weapons in the event of an attack? I think not.'

'They need no great strength to lift their Enfield rifles, Doctor,' said Bracy, 'and their speed and accuracy in firing cannot be denied. There are excellent marksmen among them, and they will make good soldiers. No!' he said smiling, 'they are already good soldiers – they simply need some experience in the field, and then they will be excellent soldiers.'

'That's it, Bracy old chap!' cried Roberts, squeezing his friend's shoulder. 'Let's stand together against this assault on our boys' good character. I tell you, Doctor, I like these boys, as you call them, very much – I dare say I've seen no boys I'd rather have under me.'

'Nor I,' said Bracy, loyally.

'Bah!' ejaculated the Major, who had been shaking his head as he listened to the two young officers dispute with the Doctor. 'I agree with Doctor Morton. You may be happy to have these boys – for the Doctor is right so to call them – but I would be happier if the regiment was made up of strapping young fellows such as yourselves. I prefer to have young men who have some meat on their bones and who look healthy. I presume they had to pas at least some preliminary health examinations, Doctor? They won't be spreading consumption amongst us, at least?'

'I would hope not, Major,' said the Doctor gloomily, 'but as I say, standards seem lax in these days. Perhaps not all doctors in the army have my expectations of what a soldier should look like.' And he nodded approvingly at Roberts and Bracy, who politely hid their smiles, looking mischievously sidelong at each other.

'Colonel!' cried Bracy, 'will you not defend the men? Surely you will not malign them as the Doctor and the Major do?'

The colonel smiled genially from his chair, where he sat, the light net stretched across his lap to prevent him from rising weightlessly from it, and sipping brandy from the ingeniously designed spouted glass globe. He chuckled, saying, 'Gentlemen, let us not fall into disagreement over the men. Their main failings are that they are young and have no experience in the field. Time will remedy both these faults. They are eager and loyal and showed great willingness in their training, as Captain Roberts and Lieutenant Bracy have both attested every day. As you know, Doctor, the gravitational forces we will find on both the Moon and on Mars will be less than that of Earth. These young men will find they are possessed of a greater strength than they had on Earth. I believe you have had ideas on this very point?'

'Why, yes, Colonel,' said the Doctor, greatly pleased to be given a chance to expound upon his theories to the officers. 'Medical science has clearly shown the necessity of taking Dame Nature into account at all times. Research carried out upon humans who have spent large amounts of time in space, or on the surfaces of the Moon or Mars indicates that Nature will work so to fit the bodies of these people to their environment, as to do otherwise would be wasteful, and Nature is not wasteful. Those who spend time on the Moon will find themselves becoming similar to its inhabitants, and those who spend time on Mars will do likewise.'

'What, Doctor?' cried Roberts, laughing, 'do you mean to say we shall first become as tall and thin as the natives of the Moon, and then shall find our skin darkening to the hue of the Martian natives?'

'Not at all, my dear Roberts,' said the Doctor, with some annoyance at having been interrupted in his flow of explanation. 'Your height will not increase, nor will your skin darken past the natural effect of the sun and wind upon it. What I mean is that although the colonel is right that at first the men – do not smile so, sir, I still consider them the merest boys – will possess on other worlds a strength greater than they do now, over time their constitutions will adjust so to fit the natural limits of that world, and they will have no greater advantage over the natives than any native person of the same height and build.' He paused, sipping his brandy, and glared at the tall, young officers. 'None of us need think ourselves immune to this effect, gentlemen. We will over time all find ourselves losing our manly strength as we have known it on Earth.'

'What, Doctor?' cried the Major.

'How can we stop this?' cried Roberts, who loved sport and felt it hard to be told so suddenly that he would lose the capacity for it.

'Do you mean to tell us we would be weaklings at home?' cried Bracy.

The Doctor nodded solemnly and sipped at his drink, a twinkle in his eye as the officers exclaimed in horror. He met the colonel's amused gaze and began to laugh.

'Gentlemen,' said the colonel, 'the good Doctor has been teasing you. He and I have spoken on this matter, and he will now continue his explanation, I am sure. If you consider you have sufficently frightened my officers, of course, Doctor?'

'It is a simple matter,' said the Doctor, 'although simpler perhaps in the telling than in the execution. Extremely vigorous physical exercise, including the lifting of weights equal to the equivalence of weight a man might lift on Earth will stop a man's body from adjusting to his new surroundings, and keep him as strong as he was on Earth. In other words, we must all work to convince our bodies that they are still on Earth. The wearing of weights upon the legs and arms is one method, although it might lead to merriment amongst the natives and may make them less respectful. I would suggest instead a programme of exercise to be carried out daily by both men and officers, and indeed any persons wishing to return to Earth easily. Without such an effort, upon return to Earth we would have to spend time slowly adjusting to our surroundings, as we would have done on other worlds. However, instead of possessing an agreeable degree of superhuman strength as we would seem to have done on either the Moon or on Mars, we would be little more than cripples on Earth. I assume that that eventuality pleases none of you?'

He nodded pleasantly at the nods and chorus of assent.

'Excellent!' he said. 'Well, let us say that we shall use this portion of the journey merely to accustom ourselves to the sensations of flight though space. However, when we reach the Moon, and also on the flight to Mars, everyone shall undertake to follow the exercises I shall set for him, both officers and private soldiers. Are we agreed?'

Again he nodded at the chorus of assent. 'Don't think you'll be alone in this,' he said. 'The other doctors are also laying out this plan, I assure you. I hope you enjoy your leisure on this flight, gentlemen, for you will be in my hands hereafter.'

'What are we getting ourselves into?' whispered Roberts in Bracy's ear. 'I think we may find ourselves preferring the alternative soon enough.'

Bracy laughed quietly. 'You're just afraid I'll do better than you, Rob. Which I will, of course. The trouble with you is your lack of stamina – soon you will have the frame of a little girl, and I'll have to help you out of carriages, and over puddles, and –'

'Villain!' cried Roberts, poking at him with an outraged finger.

'—and you'll begin to fear getting your lace handkerchiefs dirty, and will feel the cold, and will, no doubt, take to carrying a lap dog with you wherever you go –'

'Lap dogs!' cried Roberts, 'a fine thing to say! No doubt you'll take to carrying kittens!' and then the young officers laughed and shook hands.

Doctor Morton shook his head as he turned once more to the Major. 'Boys,' he said, 'all of them, just boys.'


	3. Chapter 3

**In which there is a break in the monotony of the journey through space.**

 

After a full week had passed, the majority of the men had managed to exert some control over their confused bodies and were no longer confined to bed. The worst cases still lay, perspiring and greenish of face, staring miserably at the ceiling, but their more fortunate friends could now resume their ship board life of boredom and avoiding the attention of the officers, commissioned and non commissioned alike. Games of cards were played at all hours in the bunk rooms. Every last scrap of food lovingly carried up from Earth had been consumed until not even a dusting of sugar could be found in the bottom of a paper bag. A terrible argument broke out when it was discovered that one soldier had been hoarding a small supply of red and white striped clove sweets and a whole bag of black and white mint humbugs without any intention to share with his sugar loving friends.

The monotony was broken on the ninth day, when the ship's deep horn sounded short sharp blasts to signal an alarm. The soldiers, who had been lying around sleeping, or observing their more energetic comrades playing cards, sat up in surprise.

'Pirates!' cried Gedge in great hope of excitement. 'Let's go get our rifles, pard'ners!'

'Don't you be so eager, Bill,' cried Fred. 'I heard they'd be springin' a life boat drill on us. That's all this is, you mark my words. Pirates! I s'pose yer see yerself swingin' from one of the ships to the other with a sword atween yer teeth.'

'Yes, d'you think yer one of the orficers?' laughed Wilson.

'You may laugh,' said Gedge darkly, swinging down from his bunk with more ease than he had at first, and sliding towards the door as the ship's horn sounded once more and the sound of shouts rose from the corridor, 'but at least I knows my left from my right.'

'That ain't funny,' scowled Wilson, following him.

'Maybe not to you,' said Fred, sneaking a look at the abandoned hands of cards and shaking his head and sighing in relief as he shoved his own cards under the netting of his bunk to join them.

Out in the corridor, crowds of soldiers jostled each other, all loudly wondering what was going on. A stentorian yell from one end of the corridor signalled the arrival of a sergeant.

'Get yourselves into order, there! Here, you, stop shoving at people! Move along, there! Quick now, double time!'

'Double time!' hissed Gedge, 'how can we double time in these shoes?' Despite his protests, he did his best and slid along as quick as he could in the mass of men. As they entered into wider corridors they were joined by more soldiers, all being neatly herded along by the sergeants. 'Oh, I wonder where old Gee has got hisself to?' thought Gedge. 'Maybe he's abandoned his position to go and see to Mrs Gee.' He entertained himself with thoughts of the sergeant, such a stickler for duty, being overcome with the desire to see to the safety of his wife, and then thought it more likely that Mrs Gee needed no man to see to her safety, and was probably even at that moment terrorising the pirate captain that Gedge's fond imaginings had supplied as an adversary to the ship. At that very moment a familiar voice broke into his reverie and he saw Sergeant Gee up ahead, signalling to any men of the 404th that they should immediately make their way to his position.

They shuffled forward as fast as they could and were directed along corridors and up to a higher deck, where they found themselves marshalled before a series of doors, each with a circular locking mechanism upon it. Sailors were opening these doors with practiced ease, and urged the men to pass inside. Doing so, Gedge and his friends found themselves in a narrow chamber, lined with benches on either side. The floor across which they slid seemed to make an oddly hollow sound, as if it were not as solid as the decking to which they had become accustomed. Looking back they could see there was an inner sliding door that had stood open

'Faster, there!' cried Sergeant Gee. 'Strap yourselves in! Gedge! Do Wilson's strapping first – Wilson, learn to use your hands properly!'

'Sorry, Sergeant!' cried Wilson, as Gedge nimbly strapped him securely to his place on the bench. 'I can't help it, Bill,' he whispered, 'my hands get all mixed up if I don't have time to think.'

'S'allright,' muttered Gedge, 'don't you worry about it, pard'ner.'

Gee slammed the sliding door shut with a resounding crash and secured it with its magnetic bolts. The outer door also clanged shut upon them, and they heard the locking mechanism turning. Without the light coming in from the corridor it was suddenly very dim in the little chamber, with only a greenish sort of light coming from two recessed panels in the ceiling. Gee took the final place on a bench, and strapped himself down. Gedge looked at the man's pale face and thought to himself suddenly that he was very glad he was not himself a married man, for care was written all over the sergeant's face, though he attempted to disguise it. He wished he could lean across and say that the sergeant need not worry, that Mrs Gee was with the Doctor, and that nothing would happen to her, but it was not his place, and he knew the sergeant would not welcome his pity and would make him pay for saying such a thing before the lads. Several minutes passed, in a heavy waiting silence. In the narrow confines of their little chamber it began to become warm, simply from the presence of many men in close quarters. None of them quite met any other man's eyes, all being consumed with questions and worries, and not wishing to let their comrades see this. Finally the outer door was heard opening again, and there was a heavy rapping on the inner door.

'Hey! Open up! Drill's over!'

Sergeant Gee unstrapped himself and went to the door, disengaging the magnetic bolts and then sliding it back upon its greased track. The dim lighting of the chamber was replaced by the light streaming in from the corridor once more, and the men unstrapped themselves quickly at Gee's command, and stood uncertainly outside. They could see, further down the long corridor lined with the little doors, a great crowd of officers, both Army and Navy, listening to an officer they knew to be the ship's captain. He did not seem in any way to be satisfied, and was holding in his hand a fine large pocket watch. After some minutes more a junior officer called out for the sergeants to step forward. The sergeants went forward smartly, down to the officers and stood there, faces grave, as the ship's captain addressed them, displeasure clear on his face. They saluted crisply, and the officers disbanded, wandering about their business. The sergeants turned and advanced on the men once more.

'Uh-oh,' whispered Gedge, 'I dunno what we've done, but I think we're in trouble, pard'ners.'

Within moments all the sergeants were berating the soldiers for their sloppy performance and their laziness, not to mention their complete unsuitability to be soldiers of Her Majesty in the first place, and suggesting that if the Empire fell it would no doubt be due to the lack lustre, malingering, shoddy examples of private soldiers such as those currently cluttering up the corridors of the ship. Gedge and his fellows stood at attention, keeping their faces blank and simply waiting for the storm to pass and the actual orders to be given. Finally it was made clear to them that they were a grave disappointment to Sergeant Gee, and to the officers, and they had confirmed every bad opinion that Navy officers might have of the Army, and in the next drill they were to take only half the time they had spent on this occasion, for the captain had estimated that if this had been an emergency that required in reality the deployment of the lifeboats, fully two thirds of the soldiers would not have reached the boats in time. The men hung their heads in shame, knowing full well that the Navy lads would be laughing at them.

'But, Sergeant Gee!' cried Gedge, 'how can we get through the corridors faster? We can't run with these here shoes on, and there were so many men we couldn't go faster than we did.'

'Use your head, Gedge,' said the sergeant. 'Haven't you noticed yet that nothing's got any weight up here? I'd have thought it might have been an idea to use more than the floor – you could have come along the ceiling sharpish. I'd have thought that _you_ might have thought of that, what with your hexperiences with your Navy friends.' He smiled with great malice as Gedge and others swallowed hard at the memory, and Gedge resolved never to feel sorry for the man again, no, not if he broke down and cried like a girl in front of Gedge. 'Dismissed,' said the sergeant and left them to slide their way back to their bunk rooms.

 

* * *  
Late that night, when all the men were safe in their bunks and dreaming of England, and the only men moving about the ship were the night watch, Lieutenant Bracy stood silent and alone on the observation deck, looking out the thick glass into the blackness of space. He felt very displeased with the performance of the men earlier in the day at the lifeboat drill. At dinner and after, in the officers' lounge, he had had to endure the mockery of the Doctor and the Major, both of whom felt justified in their characterisation of the men as degenerate boys who would never make decent soldiers. The Doctor had held forth on the unhealthful air of London, and had pointed out the boys' thin faces, prematurely lined and drawn, so that they seemed at one time far younger than their actual ages and at another far older. Again he had proclaimed that their frames were too weak to allow them to carry out soldierly duties and had suggested that the only place they could possibly be of use would be on another world where they might, with the aid of his special programme of exercises, reach the standards of proper English soldiers on Earth. He had even gone so far as to – and Bracy hit the glass with his fist at the memory – suggest that it would be better to leave them permanently stationed on Mars, where the shortage of human women meant that the majority would never marry and so would not produce sons and daughters as weak and sickly as themselves.

'I have failed those boys,' thought Bracy, angry both with the doctor and himself. 'Did I neglect some portion of their training? Have I let them become lax on this voyage out of too much sympathy with their illness? I should have instructed the sergeants to keep them up and moving to combat the sickness, and not led them to believe they would be molly coddled. I did not give in to the sickness when I felt it, why should I expect less of the men?'

He sighed and stared out, letting his mind settle and become calm once more. Outside the glass all was silent and black, the stars hanging still and bright, like diamonds scattered across black cloth. They looked much brighter and clearer than they did from Earth and seemed to be at once almost within reach and immeasurably far away. Bracy found himself wishing to put on an ether suit and to leave the confines of the ship and see what they were like to a man floating by himself alone in the ether. 'A foolish dream,' he thought, laughing at his boyish fantasy, but longing still to float alone and cold between the stars. 'If you really wanted that you should have joined the Naval Engineers,' he told himself, 'and even then you would only put on an ether suit should the ship need some external check or repair during a voyage.' A wisp of ether moved slowly across his vision, making the stars twinkle as they did when viewed from Earth, and he knew they must be entering a particularly dense area, for any of it to be visible to the naked human eye.

As he stood there, lost in thought, a hand descended softly on his shoulder, and he turned to see Roberts smiling at him, a touch of concern in his dark brown eyes.

'Still here?' said Roberts. 'I had quite given up hope of you ever coming back and thought I should see if a rescue party was needed.'

'Oh!' cried Bracy, 'I am sorry, Rob. I would have been as silent as a mouse when I entered, I should not have roused you from sleep.'

'That's what you think,' laughed Roberts, 'you forget that I am well acquainted with what you think of as mouse-like silence. If I were a cat I would have gobbled you up long since.' He squeezed Bracy's shoulder in a friendly manner. 'You should come to bed,' he said, 'you are exhausted, I see it in your eyes.'

'I can't sleep,' said Bracy. 'When I think of what the Doctor has been saying about our regiment, Rob – I am extremely distressed by it. How can he even jest about leaving them on Mars? And to imply – no, to openly say! – that the English race is better off without their children! Those poor boys. Rob, I can't help but think that this is to be laid to my account. Am I a bad officer to them? I think I must have failed somewhere with them.'

'Oh,' said Roberts lightly, 'the good Doctor Morton knows far less about the military man than he thinks. And if you bear any blame, then so do I – but I think you are too harsh with yourself. You and I both know that our boys will be splendid soldiers, none finer. They are brave, true and good hearted. Let's hope we get the chance to lead them in battle as soon as ever we can, and let them prove themselves. As for staying on Mars, well no doubt some will choose to, eventually. Men choose to stay in India, after all. Why not stay on Mars? There must be many opportunities for an ex-serviceman. It's late, too late to be up when we must rise early in the morning. Come on, come to bed.'

He gently pulled at Bracy's shoulder until, with a smile, Bracy turned fully to him and let himself be led away from the observation deck down to the quarters which they shared, Roberts' arm wrapped cheeringly around his shoulder.

 

* * *

There was another lifeboat drill two days afterwards, held in the dead of night, and requiring the soldiers to turn out from deep sleep. They were determined not to let themselves down in front of the Navy once again, and sped along, with no dawdling, though none of them felt competent to take Sergeant Gee's advice and use the ceiling as a floor. They were in their assigned boat and strapped in safely in far better time, and the ship's officers seemed far more pleased, as did their own, which in turn mean the sergeants were at least not displeased, and no one was shouted at for laziness at all.

'Still, I'm glad it were jest a drill,' said Fred as they made their way back to resume sleep. 'I shouldn't like to go off wearin' my pyjamas.'

'I shouldn't like you to go off wearin' your pyjamas neither,' said Gedge, 'it ain't what I call a pretty sight, Fred.' He thought for a moment as he drew the netting back across his bunk, and continued, 'I s'y, pard'ners, do any of yer know how to work them lifeboats? They don't jest get thrown overboard to float around, do they?'

There was silence.

'Sergeant Gee must know,' said a voice from beneath him, in a tone that suggested it was expressing a wish rather than a certainty.

'I s'pose,' said Gedge dubiously. 'Or maybe the orficers. Do all the orficers go in the same boat in a real emergency, d'you think, or would they go with the men? To work the boat?'

There was silence again, and then the voice from below cried out in irritation, 'Blast yer, Bill! We'll all be lyin' awake all night now because of you and yer questions!'

'Didn't mean to upset yer, pard'ner,' said Gedge, and tucked his blankets tight under his chin, closing his eyes tight against the darkness.

Try as he might he found he could not return to his dreams, and spent an uneasy night worrying about the lifeboats. He knew, for they had all been told, that supplies of food and medical stores were under the plates of the boats' decking, and that each boat had a plentiful supply of air – a detail he found worrying, as it had not until then occurred to him that air was a commodity that might be in danger of running out. There had to be some method of controlling the movement of the boats, he reasoned. Surely they would not be left to merely drift in the cold blackness of space? 'Old Gee must have been instructed in their use,' he told himself, 'or the orficers have, and they'd come with us if we really had to abandon ship. Or the sailors! The sailors would be on the boats as well! Oh, I hope as we'd have Lieutenant Bracy then! I can't think of no other orficer I'd rather have, no, not even Captain Roberts. Lieutenant Bracy's a kind man, he's never rough with any of the lads under him.' The thought cheered him greatly, and let him finally sink into sleep for the last hour before the bells rang and he had to be up and dressed.


	4. Chapter 4

**In which the Moon is attained at last.**

 

Three weeks and one day after the transport ship had left London it docked in the great royal dockyards in Victoria City on the Moon. The soldiers had been warned to stay in their quarters, and most of them were lying on their bunks, feeling exceedingly worried as the weight slowly returned to their limbs, and they settled down onto the blankets, no longer floating free against the safety netting.

''Ow will they know when to stop?' asked Fred in an overly casual tone of voice.

'When they touch the ground, I s'pose,' said Wilson, not bothering to hide his concern.

Gedge lay silent, determined not to show how uneasy he was. He distracted himself by thinking of the dinner they'd been promised, with roast beef and plenty of spuds and nice crispy Yorkshire pudding covered in gravy. They had been assured they would have beer and a steamed pudding as well, with custard. He closed his eyes and thought of custard as the ship made more and more alarming noises. Sweet and yellow and warm in his mouth, that was the thing to think of, not the grinding or the fact that sailors were moving swiftly along outside and yelling to each other. His mother made a lovely steamed pudding with custard, and he was sure, with filial loyalty, that the Army could not better it. He was, however, greatly looking forward to it.

The ship made a movement that had all the soldiers groaning in fear, and then, light as a feather, they felt it touch the ground and settle into stillness. They waited in silence, and the sound of the engines died away and the whole great ship was silent. Suddenly, the quiet sense of waiting was broken, and they heard running feet outside – real running, at last! – and a banging on doors. A fist hammered on theirs in turn.

'Up! Ready yourselves to disembark!'

Quick as a wink, the soldiers were flinging themselves out of their bunks, and gathering together their belongings into their kit bags.

'Oh!' ejaculated Gedge, 'I'm happy to see the back of these!' And he drew off the magnetic soled shoes and put on his boots. 'Ah! My feet feel like they're in the Army again!' He bounced up and down, finding he had to be careful lest he accidentally jump up to the ceiling. 'I don't feel right,' he said, 'I feel all light in my boots.'

The other soldiers in the bunk room staggered about as well, laughing at each other. The same speculation crept into every boy's mind at the same time.

'I wonder,' said Wilson, his eyes big and round with anticipation, ''ow 'igh we could jump?'

'Let's find out,' said Gedge, readying himself.

''Ang on, Bill,' cried Fred. 'S'pose yer cracked yer skull off of that ceiling? Gee would skin yer.'

Gedge grimaced, acknowledging that it would indeed be too risky, in a low ceilinged room, when they were under orders to move. 'Well,' he said, 'let's find out the moment we're in barracks, all right?'

His friends grinned and picked up their bags, which seemed as light to them as if they were completely empty. They left their bunk room, and went with the rest of the soldiers to stand in a long queue to hand back their shipboard shoes, after which they stood in a long queue while it was ascertained that the same number of soldiers that had come on to the ship were in fact leaving the ship. Finally, they stood in a long queue and left the ship, skipping in an ungainly fashion down the gangplank and onto the lunar soil at last.

In marked contrast to the excitement that had attended their departure from Earth, their were no bands, nor were there crowds of people eager to welcome them. The daylight was bright, yet cheerless, and the air was cold and thin. The soldiers looked around them in some dismay as their sergeants formed them into neat ranks once more. They stood there for an indeterminably length of time, and then, on no particular signal, the various regiments were marched out of the dockyards and towards the town. The regiments destined to be stationed in the Victoria garrison were marched in one direction, waving cheerily to the others, while those going on to Mars found themselves heading for a compound containing a huge series of long, low built barracks.

Within a short space of time, the 404th found itself installed in the barracks set apart for British Army men in transition to other worlds of the empire. They were given some time to rest and to ensure they were neat and tidy, having been told that a service of thanksgiving for their safe arrival would be held that evening at six pm, and then the long awaited dinner at seven pm. The ceilings were far too low to attempt their desired discovery of how high they could leap, so they passed the time making long jumps instead, finding to their joy that a man could easily leap twelve feet without making too much of an effort.

At six pm sharp they filed into the large chapel and gave hearty thanks that their transport had come all the way from Earth, and that they had arrived safely, with no mishaps. After the sermon, in which they were reminded to be good soldiers and act justly at all times, and the final hymn, they filed out once more, past the chaplain who was shaking the officers' hands and telling them they were very welcome to the Moon. The soldiers went directly to the mess halls and found waiting for them a meal that exceeded even their fondest imaginings over the course of the day. First there was a soup, rich and meaty, with little dumplings floating in it. Generous bowls of it were handed round and wiped bone dry with bread. After that the meat was brought out, several slices of beef for each man, with heaped serving bowls of potatoes and bright orange carrots put on the tables and plates of Yorkshire puddings and great steaming jugs of gravy so thick that it could not be hurried while being poured out. With this excellent repast every man was given a dark bottle of beer to drink. When the tables had been cleared of their burden of food, there was the slightest of pauses, but the men were not disappointed in their expectations, for steamed sponge puddings were quickly produced, and vast containers of bright yellow custard. Finally, when those too had been emptied, huge pots of tea were carried around, providing as many mugfulls as any of the men could wish.

After dinner, the soldiers could barely move, and found no desire to talk or sing, or partake in any of the activities with which they were used to filling their leisure time. Instead they wearily made their way back to their assigned barracks, too full and heavy even to employ the skipping motion that made walking on the Moon so quick and so comical. The moment they entered the barracks and lay down upon their beds, most of them were asleep. Gedge, who had acquitted himself as well as any other man at the table, found himself unable to sleep, with a queer light coming in the window.

'Oh, but the moon is bright tonight,' he thought sleepily, and then found himself fully awake. 'But we're on the Moon,' he told himself. 'It can't be shinin' on itself, now can it?' He sat up and peered out the window, deciding that nothing would do but that he should go outside and see where the light was coming from. Accordingly, he rose quietly and dressed once more, carrying his boots in his hand until he was outside the barrack's door, when he sat down and put them on his feet. Looking around him he could see nothing, the buildings being so close together, and he crept along until he could round the corner to where he knew there was a wide open space, and saw the queer light streaming full down on a tall, smartly dressed figure, holding a cigarillo forgotten in one hand and looking raptly upward toward the heavens. Gedge went no closer, but instead looked upwards himself and gasped loudly. There above him, hanging in the sky was what he knew had to be the Earth, enormous, blue and stately in its circling of the sun. Gedge felt himself transfixed by the majesty of the sight and scarcely noticed when the other man turned to him.

'Who is there?' said the man, and Gedge belatedly realised he was being addressed by an officer, Lieutenant Bracy.

'It's jest me, sir,' he said, tearing his eyes from the sight in the heavens, 'Gedge, sir.'

'Why aren't you asleep, sir?' said Bracy, a touch of annoyance in his voice. Almost at once, however, he was smiling and saying, 'But of course, why should you not wish to see this? Isn't it astonishing, Gedge? Come out, you will have a clearer view of things. Come now, sir, out with you.'

Gedge smiled in return and shyly came forward to join the young officer in the centre of the open ground.

'Look up,' said Bracy softly. 'There is our world, Gedge, there it is. Do you see the brown land in the blue of the seas? Do you see how large it is? That is Africa. See, follow where my finger is pointing. Britain lies there, but we cannot see it through that cloud. We shall have to look for it on another night.'

Gedge stared up where Bracy was pointing, but indeed all he could see was a thick swirl of white. All at once he felt the strongest sensation of home sickness sweep through him, and his eyes prickled shamefully. He felt that he would rather face a thousand horrors rather than cry in front of an officer, even such a kind officer as Lieutenant Bracy, but at that moment he missed every part of his life in England, even the times of great uncertainty and worry before he had been accepted by the recruiters and had, with great relief taken the Queen's Shilling. He swiped at his eyes as inconspicuously as he might and fixed his gaze on that dear sight in the heavens. Bracy, he was glad, said nothing, just let him get his emotions under control until he could turn and smile again at the officer.

'It's a rare old sight, sir!' he said. 'I'm happy to have seen it with you.'

'And I with you, Gedge,' said Bracy. 'We will watch for our chance to see Britain another night, and I shall bring my glass so that we may have a better view.'

'Thank you, sir,' said Gedge, and feeling that he should show his respect, came to attention and saluted.

Bracy returned the salute and laughed, saying, 'Stand easy, man, stand easy. There is no need to be on parade at this time. Come now, Gedge, it grows late, and we shall both be up in the morning early. Go to your bed, man, and rest. You will be starting training to help you adjust to life on a world with lower gravitational forces than Earth – I can assure you it will be strenuous, and you will be glad to have rested tonight. Go on, goodnight.'

'Goodnight, sir,' said Gedge, turning away. He paused and turned back. 'It's byootiful, sir,' he said quietly, and left.

Bracy smiled, but did not respond, turning all his attention once again to the Earth hanging over them in the dark night sky.

 

* * *

The next morning brought a new routine to the men of the 404th, who at six am found themselves running circuits of the parade ground in full kit. It was not strenuous in the slightest, for their kit and they themselves weighed but a fraction of their weight on earth. After what seemed to them like the hundredth circuit, however, they began to feel the effects of tiredness, and observed with some suspicion that the Doctor had come out to see their progress. He watched them for some time, and then, shaking his head, spoke with great authority to Sergeant Gee, who nodded and jogged out to the line of men.

'You're not on a walk with your grandmothers in the park!' he cried, 'full sprint!'

Not daring to groan, the men picked up their pace, even though it became more and more difficult to keep on their feet. On they ran, with men who fell over getting up again as quick as they could, for fear of the sergeant's anger coming down upon them. As more and more of them staggered, or fell, or accidentally leapt into the air Sergeant Gee shouted out 'Halt!' and went back to the Doctor.

The men stood, doubled over and breathing hard in the cold air. Gedge watched the sergeant apparently remonstrate respectfully with the Doctor, who became agitated and waved his finger under the sergeant's nose. Finally Sergeant Gee came back to the men, his face as carefully blank as any of theirs when they had to face him.

'Now that you're warmed up,' he said, 'the Doctor wants you to go indoors to lift weights for a time.'

'Warmed up!' gasped several of the men, and the sergeant ignored their outburst.

They were ushered into the mess hall where they had eaten their breakfasts, and found there a strange collection of items, buckets of what seemed like lead weights, pieces of cast iron and so on. To their astonishment, they saw their officers standing there, red faced and perspiring as if they had been hard at it for some time.

'Ah, gentlemen!' called the Doctor, 'I hope you have had a profitable series of exercises? Good, good. Then it is your turn to build up your stamina through running, while the men work on their strength here.'

The officers nodded, too exhausted apparently even to speak, and forced them selves to run at a jog out of the room. The soldiers found themselves now put hard to work lifting weights as heavy as their arms could manage, until they felt their muscles quite turn to jelly, and all the strength of their limbs desert them. Even then the Doctor was not satisfied, but walked around berating them and saying he had seen finer specimens of manhood lying dead in ditches than he saw now before his eyes. Finally, some four hours after they had started with their running they were allowed stop, and sank exhausted to the floor.

'Don't just lie around,' said Sergeant Gee. 'Now you must put the tables and chairs back in their places. From tomorrow you must also clear them away before six am.'

The men could not restrain themselves from groaning in pain and dissatisfaction. Then they clambered to their feet and did as they were told.

 

* * *

Out in the yard, the officers were also feeling rebellious and tired.

'Damn Morton's eyes!' cried the Major. 'Does he want our hearts to stop? It is easy for him to prescribe this torture, but I do not see him partaking in it himself. The colonel is right to say he will adapt this to his own convenience – I am going to have a rest to catch my breath. You young pups can run in circles forever, if you wish.'

'Well, sir,' said Roberts, 'I quite think I would like to catch my breath, too.' So saying, he stopped, only to snap his head up in mock outrage as Bracy jogged backwards past him.

'Lap dogs!' laughed Bracy.

'Kittens to you!' cried Roberts and the two young officers began to race round the yard, each trying to outdo the other in speed and stamina. Eventually their high spirits overcame them and they started to wrestle, there being no private soldiers about to witness their officers laughing and horsing around.

'Boys!' said the Major to himself, smiling and shaking his head. Raising his voice he called to them, 'Roberts! Bracy! Come here, gentlemen.'

At once they left off their play and jogged over to him, standing ready to receive his orders.

'Look here,' said the Major, 'it's impossible to exercise for four hours a day like the Doctor has said we should, do you agree with me, gentlemen?'

'It takes up such an amount of time, sir,' said Roberts, 'the men surely can't afford to spend all this time in exercise on top of any other duties and training they may have. Are they to do this exercise regime as well as their regular drill? Does that not count for anything?'

'Does the Doctor not intend this to be the regime only while the regiment is in barracks?' asked Bracy, 'for that is how I understood him. If we were on the march I do not see how he could expect us to find the time for this sort of activity. And yet,' he continued, 'I imagine the Doctor will tell us we must do that very thing if we do not want to lose our strength as men.'

'I know the Doctor has proposed that the men could undertake these exercises while they are off-duty, to allow them to carry out their other tasks as well,' said the Major.

'Sir!' cried Roberts and Bracy together. Bracy politely indicated that Roberts should be the one to speak. 'Sir,' he continued, 'I can assure you, that would lower the morale of the men to a very great degree. They already do not have a great deal of time off-duty, for they have other training as well as the Doctor's regime, to accustom them to life on Mars.'

'Well,' said the Major, standing up once more, 'we shall give the Doctor a couple of days, and then we must speak frankly to him. A soldier laid low with exhaustion is as little use as one who has lost his strength. When we are back aboard ship at least we cannot be required to run,' he said, taking a deep breath. 'Let us continue, gentlemen. Let no one say we did not give this a fair trial.'

Without another word the officers began to run circuits once again.


	5. Chapter 5

**In which complaints are averted and good will restored.**

After the men of the 404th had spent some days undergoing the Doctor's regime of exercise and lifting of weights, and had also found their days filled with training by Army instructors on the effects of low gravitation on matters such as long distance marching, the discharge of weapons and the force needed with which to bayonet an enemy, they heartily wished never to set foot outside the confines of their bunks again. For many of them the breaking point had come when, after a full day's marching with heavy kit, they had returned to the barracks to find they were expected at this late moment to start their running exercises, and would not be allowed eat until both those exercises and the weight lifting had been completed. In their despair and anger, many had committed the sin of speaking out against the Doctor and the officers, calling them heartless brutes who had devised this torture of common men for their own amusement, and had also committed the far more immediate sin of saying, to Sergeant Gee's face, that they had no intention of obeying his orders in this regard. These unhappy and intemperate souls were now on report and found that they were languishing on punishment detail, which the sergeant with ghoulish humour had prescribed to be running circuits of the yard in full kit when their fellows had finally finished and had gone in to eat.

'I ain't hungry,' said Gedge in a voice that would have conveyed deepest astonishment, had he had but the energy to speak above a whisper. He looked at the food set out before him, and struggled to eat a little of it. Then, like soldiers all around him, he found his eyes drifting shut against his will, and he simply laid his head down upon the table and slept.

Sergeant Gee looked about him at the sleeping men, some of whom had not managed to push their plates out of the way in time. The kitchen workers were shaking their heads at the waste of good food, which had, truth be told already been overcooked and unpleasant, having been prepared in time for the men's return from the march and then had had to be kept warm while they performed their extended regime of exercise. The sergeant, fighting against sleep himself, went back out to the yard where the men on punishment detail were now flagging and moving not much faster than a walk.

'Pick up the pace there,' cried the sergeant, 'unless you want to be holding your rifles above your heads as you run!'

Grimly, the men forced themselves to a jogging pace. Sergeant Gee watched them for a while, but did not demand they move faster. Instead he turned smartly and walked off away from the men's barracks towards the houses that formed the officers' quarters. It was late, and the officers had long since finished their dinner, and their after dinner drinks, and had retired to their quarters. The sergeant made for the house shared by Captain Roberts and Lieutenant Bracy, and knocked on the door. After some moments, Bracy opened it, and stood there in his shirt sleeves, looking at the sergeant in some surprise.

'Why, Gee,' he said, 'what is it?'

'Sir,' said the sergeant stiffly, 'it's about the men. They can't take no – any more of this exercising of the Doctor's, not if they're to be in fighting form.'

'A moment, Gee,' said Bracy and called over his shoulder, 'Rob! Quick, come out!' Roberts strolled out, his pipe in his hand, and noted the sergeant's presence with a smile. 'Now,' said Bracy, 'you tell the Captain and me what it is you have to say, Gee.'

Sergeant Gee laid out his report, concisely and smartly, telling the young officers of the day's hard marching, and the unpleasant surprise at the end of it, of the complaints of all and the insubordination of some, of how the men were too exhausted to eat, which could only lead to them being weaker upon the next day, and the fact that the men had had no time to simply sit among themselves, and found themselves always in the presence of a superior, a state of affairs that made them feel they were seen as untrustworthy and not deserving of even the smallest amount of leisure time.

'They're good lads, Captain Roberts,' said the sergeant, 'but they're unhappy, and they will sicken with this regime. They can't do a full day's training and this. They can't do this and be expected to fight after it.'

'You understand, Gee, that without strenuous exercise we will lose the strength we enjoyed on Earth? And that the officers as well as the men are undertaking this course of remedy?' asked Bracy.

'Yes, sir, Mr Bracy,' said Gee, 'but the men are already getting their exercise. It's just too much, sir.'

The young officers looked at each other, and turned back to him.

'Sergeant,' said Roberts, 'we will talk to the Doctor in the morning, and lay out your points most strongly to him. Now, go and take those men off punishment detail and send them to bed. You may assume that there will be no exercise for any of the men tomorrow, it being the Sabbath. Go and make sure they've all gone to bed -- and get to bed yourself, man, you can barely stand.'

'Thank you, sir,' said Gee, and saluted, turning and making his weary way back to the barracks.

'Will we be let cancel this programme of the Doctor's?' murmured Bracy as they watched the sergeant leave.

'I hope so, old man,' said Roberts. 'He can hardly object to them resting on a Sunday, after all. Look at Gee – that man's lost weight. That can't be the object the Doctor is aiming for.'

'Ah, but is it the result of the Doctor's exercises, or of Mrs Gee's culinary skills?' mused Bracy with a smile. 'Perhaps we should order the man back to the mess hall.'

'Bracy,' Roberts laughed, 'you have a hard heart, to mock so at true love's efforts. I am sure we can persuade the Doctor to a more reasonable regime. I have no wish to lead skeletons in battle.'

'Nor I,' said Bracy, 'nor I. Come on, let's get to bed, it's late.' He clapped Roberts on the shoulder and drew him inside, closing the door.

* * *

The next day the two young officers spoke to the Doctor, directly after the Sabbath service of worship, having asked for an interview both with him and their superior officers. They stood together, determined to protect their men, in the lounge by the officers' dining room. 'For,' Roberts had said, 'it may be he will listen to reason if only to get to the food on time.'

'Doctor Morton,' said Roberts, 'this simply cannot go on. Your regime of exercising has exhausted the men utterly, and will damage them if they are required to keep it up.'

'Yes,' cried Bracy, 'last night they could not even eat, they were so tired, a course of action that will cause them to become as weakly in truth as you have already described them.'

'Why, nonsense!' cried the Doctor. 'You saw the men this morning, as bright eyed and happy as any soldier might be.'

'That, Doctor, is because they were exempt, on my orders, from their prescribed four hours of exercise this morning, and no doubt slept until the last moment before hurrying to the chapel,' said Roberts.

'What, sir?' said the Doctor, 'do you take it upon yourself to claim more knowledge of what the men may bear by way of exercise than I?'

'We know our men, sir,' said Bracy coldly, 'we must ask them to trust us in battle, shall we not also act on their behalf in peace?'

'Gentlemen!' said the colonel, before any reply could be made. 'I will not have this tone of argument among my officers, I will not have it, I say. Lieutenant Bracy, the Doctor has as much care for the men as do you. Do you think he is not trying to protect their health now as much as he would have to if they were brought to him wounded from the field of battle?'

'Sir, I beg your pardon,' said Bracy ashamed, and to the Doctor, 'accept my apology, Doctor. I did not mean to suggest –'

'Pshaw!' ejaculated the Doctor. 'You young men are too quick to see malice in men of experience. The two of you stand there as if you are mother hens protecting your chicks from the wiles of a medical fox. Come now, you know how the men will deteriorate if they are left to their own devices, for I assure you, gentlemen, that I have more experience with soldiers' bodies than yourselves, and left to their own devices soldiers will fill their bodies with food and drink, and neglect to exercise them, until they are fit for nothing. Let them act in such a way on Mars, and we will have a regiment fit for nothing.'

'Doctor,' said Roberts, 'there must be some lessening of the load, at least on days when they have already undertaken other physical training.'

'And on Sundays,' said Bracy, quickly.

'Might this be agreeable, Doctor?' asked the colonel.

'I should prefer otherwise, but I see these hens' feathers are becoming ruffled once more,' laughed the Doctor. 'Gentlemen, I am quite aware that such an extensive regime will not be possible once we have reached Mars and must carry out our assigned duties. What I wish to achieve now is to build the men up so that the relatively small amount of exercise they will be able to undertake on the transport ship does not allow them to weaken. This is purely temporary, my dear young men.'

Roberts and Bracy looked at each other and laughed.

'Doctor,' said Roberts, 'we have been working under the misapprehension that this was to be the normal state of affairs until we return to Earth.'

'You see, Colonel, how the young invent plots and stratagems from their older and wiser fellows to make their lives miserable?' said the Doctor cheerfully. 'Roberts, you may tell the men that on days when they have already undertaken training that will build up their stamina such as marches, that they must only follow the training with weights. And Bracy, by all means tell them they may have extra time for their prayers on a Sunday – I do not feel they should miss an entire day of physical training, but let us say the amount will be halved.'

'There is another matter,' said Bracy. 'The men believe this to have no positive effect upon them, for they do not believe that the officers follow this regime. They think we did at first, but only to trick them.'

'Such insolence!' cried the Major, who up till this point had been enjoying the argument as a fine entertainment before his lunch.

'With respect, sir,' said Roberts, 'they do not see us participating in this effort every day. They may believe that any officer they do see participating has merely drawn the short straw and is putting on a show to deceive them.'

'We can easily convince them otherwise by taking part in the exercises with the men,' said Bracy.

'With the men, sir? With the men?' said the Major in outrage, 'as if we are non commissioned officers?'

'Yes, sir,' said Bracy firmly. 'Let them see they are not alone in their endeavours, and that it is hard for us too. They will love us more for it, I am sure.'

The Major spluttered and adjusted his monocle, while Bracy and Roberts carefully did not smile, knowing as they did that he avoided the Doctor's exercises as often as he could. Before he could object more strenuously and coherently, the colonel nodded decisively.

'I am inclined to agree with you, Bracy,' he said. 'Let us follow your plan. The men will have completed their training here in under a month. We can follow your idea for that long, and see what benefit it may bring us. If nothing else, it will stop you from ceaselessly reminding us to obey your orders, Doctor! We shall have to be honest from now on, gentlemen, or the men shall be telling tales to the Doctor here.'

Having ensured peace once more amongst his officers, the colonel signalled the servants that they should serve lunch at once, and they all, friends once again, went through to the dining room.

 

* * *

From that day the men did not mutter darkly about the officers having devised ways of torturing the ordinary soldiers, for they were treated to the novel sight of their officers toiling beside them in the Doctor's hated exercises. This was an entertainment they took great relish in as it was clear to all of them that only Bracy and Roberts wished to do such a thing. The Major, who was inclined to stoutness, and who moreover believed wholeheartedly in the dignity of his rank, made it obvious that he felt great distaste for the whole enterprise, and became therefore an almost irresistible object in the soldier's desire to _put one over_ , as the men said in their rough way, on an officer. Running in groups, the men would imperceptibly increase their pace, little by little, until the Major was puffing along out of breath and too proud to slacken before them. After, the men would weep with laughter and vow they would not do it again, lest Sergeant Gee take it upon himself to discipline them. Always, however, the attraction to mischief was too great, and when the sergeant's attention was drawn to another group the men with whom the Major was running would grin and inflict misery upon the man.

The other officers escaped such treatment. The colonel, because of the very great respect the men felt for him, and because they knew that a wound he had received as a younger man could still trouble him found that the men would match whatever pace he set, and should it appear that he was growing tired, none ever displayed by look or voice that they thought it unfair that he should slacken. Bracy and Roberts also escaped mischief, for on the few occasions it was attempted they merely smiled and ran faster yet, their longer legs and strong manly frames winning them the advantage over the shorter men until the soldiers groaned and wished they had picked an easier target.

The Doctor, as he was an officer who was not expected to participate in combat, had devised for himself an abbreviated regime of exercise and so did not come out with the men. Or, it should be said, he did not come out more than once. For on the sole occasion when he did appear as a participant with the men he was greeted with the sight of the whole regiment grinning at him like hungry wolves at the sight of a lamb, and by the end of the prescribed course of the day's exercise had resolved that he should not set foot near any of the ordinary soldiers unless they had come seeking his medical expertise. He moreover denounced them to his brother officers as ingrates and undeserving of his efforts to help them, and was much put out to see the same wolfish expression in the officers' eyes, albeit more quickly and more convincingly covered over than he had seen earlier on that day.

For their part the men accepted with better grace the need for the exercises, and once they knew this was not to be the course of their entire lives in the Army, participated with more vigour, telling themselves they would get a good long rest on the remainder of the voyage, and that they would be fine specimens of manliness upon Mars. They felt the reduction in their exercises on days in which they had already had hard training and on the Sabbath day was fair indeed, and among themselves called down blessings on both Captain Roberts and Lieutenant Bracy, whom they were sure were their sole champions. Never once did they consider that another may have taken up their cause, and never once did Sergeant Gee, a fairer man than many believed, give them reason to believe so.


	6. Chapter 6

**In which romance is in the air.**

 

In their last week upon the Moon, the men were full of talk about a dance that they had heard the commander of the Victoria garrison was holding that night for all the officers currently on the lunar surface, whether in permanent station or in transit to a further duty. The men were concerned that the officers of the 404th would outshine all other officers from all other regiments. It seemed to them a poor thing that the Victoria garrison might be setting itself up as the pinnacle of perfection to which their officers should aspire, for even though they might consider it amusing to torment an officer such as the Major, they firmly held that no other Major in any other regiment could match up to him.

 

'I've heard that Colonel Wolfe is looking for a husband for his daughter,' said Wilson, frowning at the cards in his hand as if their faces were completely unfamiliar to him, despite having frowned at them for the last several minutes.

'Where did you hear that?' asked Gedge, squinting at his own cards a final time and putting them face down upon his knee in a casual manner.

'Kitchen workers,' said Wilson, frowning at his cards one more time, then throwing them down in an annoyed gesture, saying, 'I ain't got nothin'. I'm out of this game.'

'You sure you know the rules for this, Bill?' asked Fred, looking desperately at his hand as the seconds ticked by.

'Well, it don't really matter with you, Fred, but yes, I know the rules.'

After another tense moment Fred carefully put threepence on the table. Davids looked at him disbelievingly and snorted. 'I'm glad yer made us wait, Fred.' He tossed a shilling down. 'Show us yer cards, Bill.'

'Full 'Ouse,' said Gedge cheerfully, laying the cards out on the table. Fred and Davids flung theirs down in disgust.

'I don't like this Yankee game,' said Fred. 'And I ain't playin' it no more.'

'I'll buy you a nice 'ot pie when we get our leave,' said Gedge, pulling the little pile of copper and silver coins over to him. Davids' face suddenly changed, and he grabbed up his discarded cards once more, looked at them frantically, looked at Gedge's lying face up on the table and then threw his down again.

'Bah!' he ejaculated. 'Fred's right, we should stick to good old English games.'

'Don't you blame me if you went and made a mistake,' said Gedge equitably. 'You heard what this Miss Wolfe is like, then, Wilson?'

'A lady, that's all I know. Must be 'ard to find a husband out 'ere,' said Wilson.

'The colonel would be as old as her father,' said Fred. 'And anyways, he wouldn't want to marry again yet, would he?'

'And the Major thinks women jest get in a man's way, I 'eard him say so to old Gee when he said he and Mrs Gee were goin' to tie the knot. The Major had a good laugh and poor old Gee looked like he wanted to spit,' laughed Gedge.

'So, anyone want to lay a bet on the captain or the lieutenant bringin' a new wife to Mars with us?' asked Davids, clearly trying to think of a way to recoup his losses.

'Yer leavin' out the Doctor, don't the Doctor deserve love?' asked Gedge, and they all laughed, the very idea of the Doctor and romance striking them all as utterly ridiculous.

'I 'eard the Doctor has a ward who's a niece of his,' said Wilson, 'maybe he'll bring her out to Mars, and whoever don't marry Miss Wolfe can marry her instead.'

'You're hearin' a lot about ladies, all of a sudden, Wilson,' cried Fred, winking at the others. 'Not settin' yer cap above yer station, are yer?'

'I jest heard,' muttered Wilson, going pink, and thereby causing his friends to attack like beasts that had scented blood.

'How d'yer do, Miss Wolfe, me name's Private Wilson, and I'm yer 'umble servant!' hooted Gedge in a falsetto voice.

'Terrible sorry, Miss Wolfe, but I see Miss Morton comin' inter view an' I must jest run over and pay me respects!' cried Fred, bounding across the room, calling, 'Yoo-hoo! Miss Morton!'

'Her name ain't Miss Morton,' said Wilson with some dignity, 'it's Miss Forbes. She's the Doctor's sister's child.' His voice trailed away as he saw the tears of laughter rolling down the others' faces.

'Miss Forbes!' cried Davids, 'why, you been doing yer homework, Wilson! Did yer hear if any other ladies might be comin' out for you to inquire the personal details thereof?'

Wilson looked highly aggrieved, but then began to laugh along with his friends. 'I got to pity you, lads, none of you have my natural charm. Yer all jest jealous of my information gatherin' skills. I'm jest surprised I haven't been recruited for the Intelligencers yet.'

'Gather some intelligence on 'ousemaids, that'll be more use to us,' said Davids.

'I'm sure there'll be girls in service on Mars,' said Wilson.

'Won't do us any good,' said Fred gloomily. 'What girl wants a private soldier? Yer need to get yer stripes like old Gee did before they'll have you.'

'What's a man his age wanting to get married for anyways?' mused Gedge.

'Dunno,' said Fred. 'Seems like a lot of trouble, when he'll be fighting. S'pose he was killed? She'd be left alone out on Mars. He oughter have waited till we got back 'ome.'

'Maybe he couldn't bear to leave 'er behind,' said Wilson in a dreamy voice.

'You are jest the softest lad I ever met, Wilson,' said Davids. 'You been gatherin' intelligence on Mrs Gee too?'

They all giggled in horror, and Gedge gathered up the cards again, shuffling them quickly.

'Come on, pard'ners,' he said, 'one more game, eh? Jest to distract Wilson from the ladies?'

'Oh, all right,' said Fred. 'No more poker though, right, Davids?'

'Right.'

'All right, pard'ners, no more Yank games,' said Gedge mildly.

* * *

'How do I look? Will I do, do you think?' asked Roberts, tugging at the hem of his dress uniform jacket.

'You look splendid,' said Bracy. 'I am quite sure you won't have a moment free from dancing.'

'I hope you're right, old chap,' said Roberts, 'for we won't be going to many dances on Mars.'

'Well, I'm sure some ladies will be brought out eventually,' said Bracy comfortably, settling back in a chair and crossing his legs. 'We'll just have to entertain ourselves till then, Rob.'

'Yes,' said Roberts, 'We'll have the dance of war to attend.'

'Most likely,' said Bracy, 'this talk of insurgency, do you put much credit in it?'

Roberts shrugged, carefully smoothing down his hair in the glass. 'Some of the natives being dashed ungrateful for our help, that's what I think,' he said. 'I would have thought they'd be happy to have an end to their endless petty little wars. I tell you, Bracy, some outside influence is stirring them up, telling them how much better off they'd be without us looking after their interests.'

'You don't think it's something of the natives' own devising then, Rob?' asked Bracy, idly opening a box on the little table beside him and taking from it a cigarillo. He lit it and grinned broadly at Roberts who was still looking ruminatively into the glass. 'My dear old Rob!' he said, 'You are quite beautiful enough. Shall we go and dazzle the ladies, before we are consigned once again to the company only of our own sex?'

Laughing, the young officers skipped lightly from their shared house and walked over to the house assigned to the colonel, for all the officers of the 404th had determined that they would walk together to the town house of Colonel Wolfe. There they shared a sherry with their brother officers before strolling through the waning light out of the camp assigned to Army men in transit on to other worlds and setting an easy pace into Victoria City. The evening was clear and chill, as it had been every day since they had come to the Moon.

'Does it rain at all here?' asked Roberts.

'Yes, indeed,' said the Doctor, 'but not as often as we are used to in England. If you miss the rain, Roberts, you should have asked for a posting to Venus. I am sure that another expedition of scholars from the Royal Geographical Society will eventually desire a military escort.'

'I'm sure Roberts would prefer a task from which he may return to England,' said the Major. 'It was sheer foolishness to allow civilians to be in charge of such expeditions. I tell you, let them be under Army command and we should not have this business of losing good men in the jungles. Although why anyone should wish to go to such a pestilential world in the first instance is beyond me. Let the French and the Belgians dispute it amongst themselves – seeing their colonies on Earth I can only imagine that there is something in the Gallic spirit that is drawn to the rainforests.' And he shuddered.

'Indeed,' said the colonel. 'Let us all be grateful that our posting is not to the centre of a swamp, for so all reports suggest the Venusian landscape to be.'

'Instead we go to a desert!' said Roberts cheerfully. 'Such extremes will have us longing for the moderate climate of England soon enough.'

Within a short time, for their camp was not far from the outskirts of the city, they found themselves walking amid quiet, neat buildings and along streets swept perfectly clean. Remarking on this, Roberts found the Doctor smiling at him.

'The native animals are not used within the confines of the town, and no one has yet devised a method of safely transporting horses from Earth. The streets are, therefore, far cleaner than those of an Earth city of commensurate size. Do the natives use animals at all for their travel, Colonel Graves?' he asked.

'I believe so,' said the colonel, 'but I do not think their beasts are suitable for riding. Nor, I believe do they use them for work such as the drawing of carriages, preferring to walk for even long journeys. No doubt you will see their animals if you come into the city at the end of the week, when there is a market. They are short beasts, with their backs coming no higher than a man's waist. Shorter yet when compared to the natives, of course. Ah, here we are.'

He led the way up the steps of a building that seemed on a similar plan to all the others and pulled on the door bell. At once the door was opened by a native servant who politely bowed them within. Bracy looked at the native quickly, not wishing to appear rude by staring. Like all the natives of the Moon, it – 'no, dash it, _he_ ', thought Bracy – was tall, taller than a human man by at least a foot, which meant, Bracy supposed, that it was not among the tallest of the natives. The native's skin was pale silver in colour, with a bluish tinge where the skin was thinnest, in the face and across the inside of the arms. His hair was purest white, and was cropped short in what seemed to be a military style.

'This way, sirs,' said the native in a quiet voice that betrayed no foreign accent.

'Why, one might think this fellow had come up with us in the ship!' whispered Roberts to Bracy, who smiled in return.

Further within the house they found themselves being conducted into a large well lit ballroom, with many officers and their ladies chatting pleasantly. Bracy and Roberts were introduced to the officers of the Victoria garrison, and to the wives and daughters who had accompanied their husbands and fathers on their far flung duty. Several of the ladies looked at the young officers speculatively, while asking them about their relatives and the schools which they had attended, before quite firmly leaving them to make conversation with those same ladies' daughters. Servants walked quietly through the crowd, offering refreshments with a calm grace.

Soon the music started, played by soldiers of the garrison who had an aptitude for fashionable dance music. Both Bracy and Roberts found themselves in great demand, the few young ladies having quickly inscribed the young officers' names onto their dance cards after a brief yet vibrant discussion in high pitched girlish voices. It was with some relief that the officers retreated while the musicians took a break to regain their breath. The young ladies were handed to their seats, and Bracy and Roberts brought them cool drinks, and fled to the company of men on the far side of the room.

'What do you think they are doing?' asked Bracy in fascination, watching as the young ladies looked daggers at each other while smiling and fluttering their fans.

'Horse trading,' said Roberts. 'You see how Miss Wolfe smiles, and Miss Blake in annoyance crosses something off her card? They are trading dances with us. My dear Bracy,' he said in what appeared to be real alarm, 'I fear it will be a hard pass to come out this evening without coming to an agreement with one of these ladies.'

'Only this afternoon, Rob, you were bewailing the lack of ladies on Mars,' said Bracy.

'To dance with, Bracy, not to marry. Dash it, the musicians are sitting down once more. We must formulate a plan.' Roberts looked around and a wide smile crept across his face. 'Ah!' he ejaculated, 'salvation is at hand. That young girl, Bracy, I must make her my dance partner.'

'What?' said Bracy, looking in the direction he indicated, 'she can't be more than twleve years old.'

'Exactly,' cried Roberts, 'no one can expect a dance to mean more than a dance. And she has been sitting there a long time – why I would not be a gentleman if I let that poor child be a wallflower for one moment longer.'

'Don't be selfish, Rob –' Bracy started.

'I saw her first. Find your own shelter,' laughed Roberts, deftly evading the young ladies bearing down upon them and speeding over to the girl.

'Miss Munroe --,' Bracy heard him say, and then Miss Wolfe was upon him, smiling and wondering if he had quite forgotten her.

'Not at all, Miss Wolfe,' he smiled, leading her to the dance floor yet again.

 

* * *

It was late at night when the officers of the 404th returned to their quarters. It had been a most pleasant evening, and the music still sounded in their memories, gay and bright. After a drink in the colonel's house, the other officers bid him goodnight and retired to their own houses. As they strolled through the chill dark night, Roberts sang snatches of his favourite tunes in a clear, deep voice.

'And did I see you talking most earnestly to Mrs Wolfe?' he said teasingly to Bracy who laughed in return.

'I believe you may have seen me avoiding Mrs Wolfe with all my might,' said Bracy in a mock serious way. 'How lucky we are to be going on to Mars directly, for as you say, if we attended to many more pleasant evenings like tonight's we might gain more than we had set out to achieve. Those chaps who came up with us will not be so lucky, I can tell.'

'Don't you think it might be a fine thing to marry the garrison commander's daughter?' asked Roberts, hanging up his jacket neatly.

'An interesting question from such a poltroon as yourself!' cried Bracy, a wide smile upon his face. 'Oh, Miss Munroe!' he said in tones of terror, 'pray hide me from your older sister and her friends!'

'You misinterpret an act of charity,' said Roberts, attempting to sound pious and sober. 'What a low opinion you have of a fellow, Bracy!'

'Well, I am glad we have both escaped,' said Bracy. 'For now we may spend all our strength on our soldierly duty, rather than pleasing the ladies. We have no need of ladies, do we, Rob? We shall do well enough by ourselves.'

'Indeed we shall,' said Roberts. 'Let us swear off the ladies, old chap.'

He held out a hand, and Bracy shook it firmly.

'I could sleep till noon,' said Roberts, yawning. 'I'm going to bed – you are about to do likewise I should hope?'

'In a little,' said Bracy. 'I want to smoke for a while first.'

'I shall keep you company,' said Roberts.

'No, no. Go to sleep. I promise, this time I _shall_ be mouse-like in my silence. Goodnight, Rob.'

'Goodnight, old man,' said Roberts and, still yawning, went into his room.

Bracy stood for a long while in the centre of the room, then walked quickly to the box of cigarillos, took one and lit it. He paced back and forth, and then realised he was not being at all like the mouse he had promised to emulate. Softly he went out to the porch and leaned against the rail, smoking and trying not to think of the evening. All at once, it seemed to him, he was remembering dances held in his parents' house, attended by all their friends. 'It was the sight of Rob dancing with little Miss Munroe,' he thought, seeing again how his young sister would creep along the wall, hoping not to attract attention, and dreading that their mother would make her dance with the children of the guests. Crowds had always been a great trial to Emily, and she would look pale and ill. The only way to persuade her from sitting by the wall was for one of her brothers to dance with her. Bracy sighed, and threw the cigarillo from him. Emily was no longer twelve, it was foolish to feel he had let her down by leaving, that he should have stayed on Earth to protect her. What was there to protect her from, after all? Only the end of childhood.

He stepped off the porch and looked up at the Earth, hanging huge and round in the sky above him. Europe was clearly visible, not a wisp of cloud to cover it. Bracy whirled and rushed back into the house, not heeding nor caring about the noise he made, and seized his glass up from its case, running back outside. He raised the glass to his eye and looked for a long time at the shape of Britain, as perfect to his sight as if it were drawn on a map. Slowly he lowered the glass again and simply looked upward. It was beautiful. He wished there were someone there he could share it with.


	7. Chapter 7

**In which Gedge has some excitement.**

 

'Come on, come on,' urged Gedge, eagerly bounding ahead of his fellows in a desire to reach the city. 'Stop your dawdling, pard'ners! '

'We've got all day, Bill,' murmured Fred in a reasonable tone of voice. 'Not all of us want to be runnin' along after doin' the Doctor's exercises.'

'It's our only chance,' said Gedge happily, 'don't you want to buy something to bring along on the journey?'

'Do you think they might have peppermint creams?' asked Wilson, 'I wouldn't half mind getting a big bag of peppermint creams.'

'They bring things up from home,' said Gedge, 'stands to reason they'd bring up sweets.'

The faster he urged them, the slower they walked, until they themselves could stand it no longer, and they all hurried the last minutes of their journey. The city was bright and neat, and although each of the soldiers felt in his heart that it could in no way compare to London, they were delighted to finally be given the opportunity to wander around its streets. The public buildings were imposing, built from the white stone so freely available on the Moon, their doors and windows high and wide.

'I have a letter,' said Fred, 'I want to get something to put in it, for my brother. Do you think there'll be a toyshop?'

'Let's look,' said Gedge, and they wandered from street to street, aimlessly. They found one of their desires at last, a grocer's where they stood entranced, staring like the boys they had so recently been at the big glass jars of sweets arranged on a shelf behind the counter. Wilson muttered to himself in agitation, deciding what he should buy, before pointing at the desired jars and exclaiming in delight as the assembled pile of sweets was placed in a bag. They strolled out again, helping Wilson eat his purchases, and shaking their heads over his quite rightful indignation at the price.

'Sixpence!' he exclaimed. 'Sixpence! Robbin' an 'onest sojer, that's what it is! 'Ere, Fred, get yer grubby paws out of my bag. Leave some for me. Sixpence!'

'Well, they have to come a long way,' said Fred, eyeing the bag and waiting for Wilson's guard to drop.

'I don't care. There ain't even above thirty of them in what I was given. Robbery.'

They wandered on, Wilson complaining about the robbery inflicted on his pocket and the continuing robbery inflicted on his sweets. They saw, at intervals, other men from the 404th, who also shook their heads sadly over the prices they were asked to pay for perfectly normal goods, and men also from the Victoria garrison, who laughed at them for newcomers, and told them they should buy native goods if they were so scrimping of their pay.

'Do the natives have sweets?' wondered Wilson.

'They eats rats,' said the soldier with whom they were speaking. 'You could have a rat pie, that'd stop you wantin' anything else.' He laughed in a coarse manner, and went about his business.

'Don't mind him,' said Gedge, 'no one eats rats, he's just tryin' to show us up, make us believe his nonsense.' He looked around, his stomach rumbling. 'I could do with something to eat, pard'ners. Has anyone seen somewhere we could go for a spot of grub?'

'Jest that swish restyrawnt, and it ain't open,' said Davids. 'I ain't seen nowhere the likes of us could go.'

'There must be somewhere for tradesmen and working men,' said Gedge. 'I'm stoppin' the next fellow from the garrison we see, to ask.'

He was foiled in his hopes, however, for they did not see a soldier from the garrison again. Luckily, however, they ran into some more of the 404th, who were equally hungry but who had had more luck in their efforts to discover where they could purchase some food. They were eating pastries that steamed in the chill air as they bit into them, releasing a savoury scent of meat and spices that made poor Gedge's stomach rumble all the more.

'Here, pard'ners,' he said, 'where'd you come across those pies?'

'And what's in them?' asked Fred, with great suspicion.

'There's a market set up,' said one of the soldiers, 'down that street a ways, and you turn down a laneway. Lots of stalls sellin' food and stuff. If you don't mind buyin' from the native johnnies.'

'You sure you know what's in them?' asked Fred insistently.

'Oh, stop yer worryin',' said Gedge, 'thanks, pard'ners!' He grabbed the protesting Fred's arm, and tugged him down the street. 'I promised you a pie,' he said.

'I don't want a rat pie,' said Fred, going with him willingly enough.

Wilson and Davids trailed behind them as Gedge skipped cheerfully along, still with Fred in tow. The street was long, and they thought they had missed their turn, but found it at last. The laneway was narrow, and it turned suddenly, opening out into a wide square. Gedge stopped dead in surprise. A market had indeed been set up, and the square was packed with stalls and people and what he realised with a shock were the natives. They were dressed in loose trousers and wide, knee-length tunics, wearing over this long loose coats that did not seem too have fastenings. Both men and women were dressed alike, and their white hair was caught back from their faces with ornate clips. It was eerily quiet for such a large crowd, the natives moving silently among the stalls, and the people speaking in quiet voices as if they could not bring themselves to shatter the peace and quiet.

'Oh!' breathed Fred, right in his ear. 'They're so tall! And so pale!'

Wilson seized Gedge from behind, and peered over his shoulder. 'Do you think we should go in there?' he asked. 'Is it safe?'

'Is it safe?' cried Gedge in indignation, and then more quietly, for he felt abashed at seeing heads turn at the sound, 'we're sojers! Don't be hidin' behind me – I'm goin' in.'

Matching his actions to his words, he strode into the square, hearing his comrades mutter indecisively, and then the sound of booted feet running after him. Displaying a confidence he did not quite feel he marched up to the nearest stall and perused the merchandise on offer. He picked up what appeared to be an egg made of solid stone. It was heavy and cool in his hand, and when he shook it, he felt a strange movement inside it and heard a sliding noise. He turned it over and looked at it more closely, seeing no seam that betrayed the art of the carver.

'Three shillings,' said the native standing behind the stall.

Gedge examined the egg again to cover his confusion, took a deep breath and looked up into the pale, silvery face.

'I – ah, I don't think I need a – one of these today,' he said, putting the egg back down. He retreated with a much dignity as he could, feeling sure he was being laughed at.

'What did it say to you? What did it say?' hissed Fred.

'Said those things are three shillings,' said Gedge, suddenly overcome with excitement at having spoken to a person from another world, and feeling slightly dizzy with the novel possibilities that the market suddenly represented.

'What are those things?'

'I dunno,' laughed Gedge, 'but they're three shillings. Come on, let's find those pies.'

The young soldiers walked down the aisle of stalls, their eyes wide, taking in the various sights. Quickly their noses led them to a stall where a native was handing a pastry to what appeared to be a native of their own height. They waited until the customer had gone, and then Gedge found himself being pushed bodily forward.

'You talk to him, Bill,' said Davids, 'you're the one with experience.'

The native watched their performance, as he stood unsmiling by a large pan of sizzling oil . Gedge looked up and blurted out, 'Do you sell pies?' His friends giggled behind him nervously.

'Yes,' said the native. 'Meat or fruit?'

'Fruit pies? You sell fruit pies?' asked Wilson, suddenly overcoming his shyness. 'Are they sweet?'

'Yes,' said the native politely. 'One penny.'

'Are the meat pies the same?' asked Gedge, getting a slow nod in return. 'Give me four meat pies and four fruit pies, then. Please.'

The pie seller nodded, and tossed uncooked pastries into the oil. It took but a little for them to turn a golden brown and float upon the surface, whereupon the native scooped them out and slid them into bags. 'Four meat,' he said, handing the pastries to the young soldier, and turning once more to the oil to first toss in and then scoop out the next batch. He dusted them with a pale silvery powder and put them in bags too. 'And four fruit. They are very hot. Eight pennies.' Gedge counted out the money, happy in the knowledge that the pies were being paid for from his winnings, and that his pay was still intact.

He gave each of his friends their two pies and they went to the side of the square to eat them. They were at first far too hot to hold securely, let alone to bite into. Gedge broke a corner off his to allow the air to cool it down, and finally took a bite. The meat didn't taste like beef or mutton, but it was very good, with a rich taste and an underlying sensation of spiciness. There were vegetables mixed in with it, and as Gedge bit down on one his mouth was filled with a taste he could not have imagined.

'It's – it's like eatin' perfume,' he said in astonishment. 'What are you lot waitin' for? It's lovely, go on, try it. Oh, for Heaven's sake, Fred. It ain't rat.' He devoured the remainder of the pie, and licked the flakes of pastry from his fingers. Then he dug out the fruit pastry and carefully took a bit of it. The filling was tart and sweet at the same time, tasting somewhat like blackberries, but having the texture of a harder fruit. The powder dusted upon the top had set into a crisp, shiny glaze that was exceptionally sweet. 'Mmm,' said Gedge, 'if you lads don't want your fruit ones, I won't let them go to waste.'

'Sorry, Bill,' said Wilson, stuffing his fruit pie into his mouth.

Within a short time, all the soldiers had devoured their food, and were eager for more new sights. They began to look in earnest at the goods for sale, and lost some of their shyness about asking what the goods were for. Gedge held up a shawl so finely woven he could see perfectly through it, and discovered that where his hands touched it they were immediately warm. He was delighted to find that the same stall held gloves sized to fit a human's hands, as well as scarves and socks. He bought the shawl for his mother, thinking it would fold into a neat package, and bought himself gloves and a scarf and a couple of pairs of socks.

'I'm going to be properly warm at last,' he said cheerfully.

'We'll be gone by the end of the week,' said Davids. 'Save yer money, Bill.'

'We've still got the week,' said Gedge, 'and it warn't too warm on the ship, neither.'

His friends considered this, and then began to grab gloves for themselves. They left the stall somewhat lighter in money, but far warmer in body. On another stall, Fred found a lovely knife, with words that none of them could read etched in a flowing script into the blade.

'What's it say?' he asked.

The native whose stall they were examining inclined his head. 'It is a line from a poem about war,' he said in the quiet tones the young men had become accustomed to over the course of the day. Fred looked at it a little while longer, and then bought it to send in the letter for his brother.

'I thought your brother was jest little,' said Wilson.

'Yes, that's right,' said Fred, 'if you were little, with a big brother in the Army, wouldn't you want him to send you a nice knife like this?'

They all nodded, acknowledging that Fred understood the mind of a child well indeed, and made their way onward, knowing that even if they spent every farthing of the pay they had drawn, they would soon be on a ship with nothing to buy, and their pay would accumulate again while they did nothing but travel. When they were laden down with goods, and had each bought more pies from another vendor they had passed, their energy began to flag at last.

'Should we go back?' asked Davids, screwing up his face at the taste of the drink he had purchased because he liked the shape of the bottle.

'They're packing up the stalls,' said Gedge, and took a swig from the offered drink. 'Ugh! You try it, Fred.'

'Oh!' said Fred, 'that's 'orrid. Your turn, Wilson.'

Wilson took a deep draught. 'Not bad,' he said, and grinned at the others. 'No, Fred's right, it's 'orrid. I jest wanted to see yer faces.'

They all sighed and smiled, tired and happy, delighted to have at last seen something new and wonderful on the Moon. Gedge arranged his packages more neatly in the string bag he had purchased earlier and yawned.

'I'm done in,' he said. 'Let's go back. We'll be up early for our exercisin', don't forget.' So saying, he looked about, vaguely wondering which was the way back to the barracks. The square looked different with the stalls being dismantled by the quiet natives, and they seemed to be the only humans left in view. 'How polite these people are,' he thought, smiling at a native who caught his eye, 'I wonder if the Martians will be so nice.' He pointed at a narrow gap between buildings.

'Didn't we come that way?' he said. 'Well, I don't s'pose we can get too turned about.'

The little group wandered off, and Gedge stepped first into the lane which was to lead them back to the wider streets. He saw movement, and heard a cry. His surprise turned to anger as he saw one of the quiet and polite natives violently struck down by a man in a cheap brown suit, who bent over it.

'Hey! Stop!' cried Gedge, dropping his bag and running forward.

The man looked up, then straightened, turned and fled, his footsteps ringing out as he fled quickly up the lane. Gedge came up to the native, his friends close behind him, and bent down. The native shrank back against the wall, holding up a shaking hand and pulling its loose coat about its body.

'We're not goin' to hurt you,' said Gedge, 'are you all right? He's run off, you don't have to worry.'

The shaking figure made no reply, but looked up from the ground. The soldiers gasped at the blood running down the silvery face, shockingly red in the dimming light. The large eyes closed and the figure slumped, insensible, to the ground. Gedge knelt down, meaning to help the unfortunate up, and made a shocking discovery.

'It's a girl!' he gasped. 'That fellow's attacked a girl!'

His friends exclaimed in disgust and bent to help him lift the injured maiden from the dust of the lane. Supporting her head, Gedge found his hands coated in her blood.

'Get help!' he cried, 'find an orficer! Quick!'

He heard clumsy running footsteps as Davids rushed away, and pulling out his handkerchief, folded it and held the resulting pad to the wound, the blood staining the white cotton.

'Bill,' said Wilson quietly, 'we've got company.'

Gedge looked up to see other natives looking in the laneway at them. They looked furious and not nearly as polite as they had before.

'We didn't do this,' said Fred, holding his hands up peaceably. 'We tried to 'elp her.'

The crowd murmured and whispered. They seemed to be building up their courage to rush at the three young men.

'Do we run?' whispered Fred. 'There's too many to fight.'

'Put her down, Bill, and we'll back off,' said Wilson quietly.

'I can't,' said Gedge miserably. 'It wouldn't be right, and it'd make it look like we're guilty.'

'Let them think what they want,' said Fred. 'I'm for gettin' out of here.'

At that moment they heard running feet once more, and Davids skidded down the lane, yelling 'This way!'

Gedge looked thankfully at the Army uniforms and let his breath out. The mood of the crowd did not improve, it seemed, but neither did they advance on the three young men. A foot rapped hard on Gedge's leg.

'You! What's going on here?'

Gedge looked up at the unknown sergeant and regretted being unable to rise.

'I saw this native girl being attacked, Sergeant,' he said, 'and I ran down here to chase off the fellow and help her. The crowd, they think we did it.'

'Huh,' ejaculated the sergeant. 'We don't usually get the natives being violent. The assailant must have been drunk.'

'It wasn't a native, Sergeant,' said Gedge, quailing at the look the man shot his way.

'What, man?' said the sergeant.

'No, Sergeant, beggin' yer pardon. It was a man. He ran off back down the lane.'

The sergeant regarded Gedge coldly, then strode forward, saying loudly, 'All right, all right. The excitement's over, get about your business. Move! We're dealing with this.' He turned to the men with him, who were armed. 'You and you, get something we can use as a stretcher. We'd better get her up to the doctors. The others – and you three as well – you disperse the crowd. You,' he said to Gedge, 'you stay where you are.'

The soldiers rushed to obey the sergeant's orders, and Gedge heard protests from the square and the sound of what seemed to be a stall being forcibly dismantled to provide material for the stretcher.

'Who are you?' said the sergeant.

'Private William Gedge, Sergeant, 404th Fusiliers.'

'And your friends?'

'Privates Alfred Carr, John Wilson and Sidney Davids, Sergeant.'

'The 404th's going on to Mars,' said the sergeant. 'I hope you didn't think you could commit robbery and just get off to another world, Gedge?'

'No!' cried Gedge in horror. 'I told yer, I saw the man what did this!'

'Maybe you're just saying that because that lot found you covered in her blood,' said the sergeant, but without any great conviction. The men sent to fetch the stretcher came back with a long board, and they took the girl from Gedge and laid her none too gently upon it. Wilson picked up Gedge's forgotten bag and held it uncertainly.

'Right,' said the sergeant when the others had returned. 'Let's not entertain the natives any longer. Back to the garrison.'

'Beg pardon, Sergeant, but we have to get back to barracks,' said Davids meekly.

The sergeant turned an unreadable face to him. 'You're going to the garrison, Private,' he said, and led the way back to the broader streets.

'We're going to be in so much trouble with old Gee,' muttered Fred. 'D'you think we'll get in trouble, Bill?'

'It ain't Gee I'm worried about,' said Gedge, his face pale and miserable, it's this lot.'

'What? Why?' whispered Fred.

'The man what done this,' whispered Gedge in a voice barely above a breath. 'I think he was a sojer.'


	8. Chapter 8

**In which Gedge despairs of being believed.**

 

In the garrison the young men of the 404th found themselves in a plain room with benches along one wall, and a table with one straight backed chair. After they had been there for twenty minutes, as best they could estimate, the sergeant came back in, with a pencil and a sheaf of paper. He sat at the table and looked at them with a weary expression.

'I will now take your statements for what you saw of this incident,' he said. 'Which of you saw the actual attack?'

'I did, Sergeant,' said Gedge.

'What about the rest of you?' asked the sergeant, making a note with the pencil.

'I jest saw Bill – I mean Private Gedge run forward, Sergeant,' said Fred.

'Me too, Sergeant,' said Davids.

'And me, Sergeant,' said Wilson. 'Sorry, Bill,' he whispered.

'Very well. Gedge, lay out what you saw.'

'I saw the man struggling with the girl, Sergeant, and then he hit her. He had some sort of weapon, I think, and then I ran at them, shouting for him to stop. He ran off, and we all went to the girl's aid,' said Gedge, without once drawing breath.

'I see. And can you describe this man?'

'He was a tall man, Sergeant, wearing a brown suit, and a hat. I – I think he was well acquainted with the area and with life on the Moon.'

The sergeant continued writing. 'And what makes you say that?' he asked.

'When he ran, Sergeant, he had no trouble in movin' fast and keepin' his feet. Even with our training, we can find it difficult if we have to run all out.' Gedge took a deep breath and said what he didn't want to. 'I think this man had training, Sergeant, I think he's a sojer. He was wearing Army issue boots.'

The sergeant stopped writing and looked sternly at Gedge.

'That's a serious charge you're making, Gedge,' he said.

Gedge looked down. 'I know,' he said.

'Well, I don't think you can accuse any soldier of this crime based on the assailant's footwear, Gedge. Anyway, it was getting on for dusk. You can't be sure,' said the sergeant, making another note.

Gedge closed his eyes and thought, remembering the laneway and the fleeing figure. 'He was wearing Army issue boots, Sergeant,' he said.

'Can you corroborate this, Davids? You, Carr? How about you, Wilson?' the sergeant asked sharply.

They shook their heads.

'I couldn't see properly, Sergeant,' said Fred. 'But Private Gedge has sharp eyes, Sergeant.'

'Well, Gedge. Your sharp eyes saw a man in civilian dress, that's what you said, isn't it?'

'Yes, Sergeant,' said Gedge.

'A tall man in a brown suit and wearing a hat. Yes?'

'Yes, Sergeant.'

'What colour was his hair?'

'Dark, Sergeant,' said Gedge, his instincts telling him to rely on keeping his answers as short as he could.

'Brown or black? Come now, sir, what colour?'

'I – couldn't be sure, Sergeant,' said Gedge, fixing his eyes on a spot on the far wall.

'And why is that, Gedge?'

'The light was fading, Sergeant,' said Gedge tonelessly.

'Can you tell me the colour of his eyes?'

'No, Sergeant.'

'Because the light was fading, Gedge?'

'Yes, Sergeant.'

'And yet in the heat of the moment, when it might have been of use to remember these things – which he cannot change – you tell me you saw with perfect clarity what he had on his feet? A garment, which even were it true that he wore them, he can change? Can you even give me a proper description of this man you say you saw, Gedge?'

'Tall, dark hair, wearing clothes as I've described, Sergeant,' said Gedge.

'Not a great deal of use, are you, Gedge?' asked the sergeant in annoyance. 'Tall with dark hair. You can't even tell me _how_ tall, can you, Gedge?'

'No, Sergeant,' whispered Gedge.

The sergeant stood, picked up his paper and pencil and regarded the four of them with a look of disgust, then strode to the door and pulled it open. 'Singer!' he called.

A private ran up and stood at attention.

'Run over to the 404th, Singer,' said the sergeant, 'and tell them their lost little lambs are here for the collecting.'

'Yes, Sergeant,' cried the man, saluted and ran.

Without another word the sergeant left the room, slamming the door behind him. The soldiers let out their breath.

'Gee's goin' to skin us,' muttered Wilson. 'Hey, Bill! Bill, what's wrong?'

'I know what I saw,' said Gedge, wiping his eyes hurriedly. 'I ain't a liar.'

'No one's saying you are,' said Wilson, 'but he's right, it was gettin' on for dark.'

'You jest sit down, Bill,' said Fred, drawing his friend down onto one of the benches and putting an arm about his shoulders. 'You chased him off, that's something. That girl's going to be all right. He'll be too scared to try that again.'

'Yes, I s'pose,' said Gedge, staring at his feet. He shut his mouth and refused to speak any more. 'I know what Army boots look like,' he thought, still looking at his feet, 'I have to put them on every day, after all.'

After what seemed like an unbearably long time they heard footsteps coming towards the door and got uncertainly to their feet. The door opened and the sergeant came in, followed by Sergeant Gee. An unaccustomed feeling of relief rose in Gedge's heart as he looked at the familiar scowling face.

'Here they are, Gee,' said the sergeant, an unmistakable tone of unpleasant satisfaction in his voice. 'They haven't been much use to me. I hope they're more use to you on Mars. But I suppose we can't ask too much of such young lads,' he continued nastily.

Gedge looked at Gee purposefully wipe the anger from his young face and refuse to rise to the bait.

'Thank you, Liddle,' he said. He gestured to Gedge and the others. 'Come on, get a move on, it's long past the time you should have been back in the barracks.'

They followed him meekly out and within a short amount of time were thankfully leaving the garrison behind. Gee did not look at them, and they felt it better to remain silent than to risk his anger. Nothing was said until they were back in the barracks again, when Gee rounded on them suddenly, making them shiver in nervousness.

'Wilson, Carr, Davids – go to the kitchens and get yourselves some food. Gedge, you come with me,' said Gee, in a milder tone than they expected.

Wilson, Fred and Davids ran away before he could change his mind. Gedge followed the sergeant, trepidation clear in his face. He was led into a small room off the mess hall, that Gee used for an office when needed.

'Well, Gedge,' said Gee, sitting down, 'what have you done this time?'

'Me, Sergeant Gee? Nothing!' cried Gedge, 'I jest tried to help that girl! And nobody wants ter believe me about what I saw! Not even me own friends! It ain't fair, Sergeant, it ain't!'

'You stop shouting, Gedge,' said Gee, sternly. 'Now, tell me what happened, from the beginning.'

'Yes, Sergeant Gee,' said Gedge, calming down, 'I'm sorry.' And he quickly laid out for Gee the entire course of events, from the moment he had stepped into the laneway until the sergeant had come to the garrison to bring them back to the 404th. He stopped talking and looked at Gee's expression in some worry. 'Are we in a lot of trouble, Sergeant?' he asked.

'That's not for me to say,' said Gee, rising to his feet. 'You run into the kitchens now, there'll be some bread at least. Then you get yourself and your uniform clean and neatened up and your boots polished and you be waiting on the steps for me. Well, step to it, sir, you've no more then ten minutes.'

Gedge fled.

 

 

* * *

Gee knocked on the door of Bracy and Roberts' house. Roberts opened the door, and Gee saluted stiffly.

'Sir,' he said, 'the missing soldiers have turned up.'

'Oh, they decided to come back, did they?' asked Roberts, 'well, send them to me in the morning, Gee, and I think I can guarantee they won't do it again.'

'What is it?' asked Bracy, coming out.

'The missing men, Bracy, they've come back,' said Roberts. 'Thank you, Gee.'

'Sir,' said Gee quickly, to forestall dismissal, 'there's more, sir. They were entangled in a case involving assault against a native woman. Private Gedge says he witnessed the assailant attacking her, and shortly afterwards he and the others were taken into custody and were in the Victoria garrison, where they were questioned.'

'Good heavens, Gee,' said Roberts, 'I thought for a moment you were going to tell me our men had been the attackers.'

Gee looked sombre. 'Sergeant Liddle, who took them into custody indicated that a case might be made against Private Gedge. I believe this to be nonsensical, sir. Gedge gave his statement to both Liddle and later myself, and I see no reason to disbelieve him. Other than his statement that he believes the assailant to be a soldier.'

Bracy and Roberts looked at each other. 'I will deal with this,' said Bracy.

'Are you sure?' asked Roberts.

'Yes. Where is Gedge, Gee? He should be spoken to tonight while the memories are still fresh in his mind.'

'I've ordered him to be ready and waiting, sir,' said Gee.

'Good man. A moment, Gee, and I will be with you,' said Bracy, and he strode back into the house.

'You believe Gedge, Gee?' asked Roberts.

'Yes, sir. Well, I believe he witnessed the attack and wasn't involved in it, sir.'

Roberts nodded, and Bracy came out of the house again, wearing his jacket.

'Very well, Gee,' he said. 'I'll talk to Gedge now.'

'Tell me what you find,' said Roberts, smiling.

Bracy sketched a salute, and marched off, followed by the sergeant.

'Why would this Liddle say a case could be made against Gedge, Gee?' he asked as they walked along.

'I don't know, sir. Gedge has three privates to vouch for him. He's a joker, sir, not a troublemaker, he's not involved. I'm sure of that.'

'I see,' said Bracy. 'Ah, there he is. I'll take this in my office.' So saying he signalled to Gedge to fall in behind him and led the way to the offices used by officers en route to other worlds. Once they had entered the room he took his seat behind the desk and looked sternly at Gedge.

'Now, Gedge,' he said, coldly, not showing any sympathy for the young soldier before him. 'I want you to tell me everything that you saw concerning this incident.'

* * *

Gedge stood up straighter, although he was very tired, and told his story yet again. He felt it would do little good, but was cheered to see Lieutenant Bracy at least pay close attention to him. 'Oh,' he thought, 'even though he'll tell me I'm foolish and wrong, it feels good to have someone look at me like I'm really here.'

Bracy took notes, and when Gedge had finished, read his statement back to him, saying, 'This is what you saw, is that right, Gedge?'

'Yes, sir,' said Gedge.

'You say you believe the assailant is a soldier? Based on your belief that he was wearing Army issue boots and your further belief that he had Army low-gravitation training?'

'Yes, sir,' said Gedge. 'We're still a bit unsteady on our feet, even with our training, but this man, he ran off at top speed with no problems, like he's been up here a good while.'

'There is a civilian population, Gedge, that has been up here 'a good while' as you say,' said Bracy. 'And the assailant was in civilian clothes.'

'Yes, sir,' said Gedge, feeling less unsure when facing these questions from his own officer than when he had faced them from the sneering Sergeant Liddle. 'But the civilians, sir – I saw a lot of them today. They don't move like the Army lads do, sir, they're not trained, they just sort of came to it themselves and they all move different. But swaddies – I mean sojers, sir, sorry – we're all taught the same things, and to do them the same ways. He was a sojer, sir. He was.'

'And you are of the opinion, are you not, Gedge that this man is stationed in the Victoria garrison?' asked Bracy.

'I didn't recognise him from the ship, sir,' said Gedge, swallowing hard. 'And he wasn't one of us. Yes, sir. He's a garrison man.'

Bracy looked down at his notes and spoke softly. He seemed diffident suddenly.

'It would of course be difficult to prove such a case, especially as we are to leave so soon. As Sergeant Gee can tell you, the situation on Mars is not considered so serious as to warrant the urgent transport of large numbers of troops from Earth. It will be some months before more troops are dispatched, and then they too will undergo their off-world training here on the Moon before journeying on to Mars. For this investigation to proceed, Gedge, you would have to stay here as you are the only witness. It would be a minimum of six months before you could rejoin the regiment on Mars. And there would be some months before any new troops came up, as I have said. Gedge. The only place to put you during that time would be in the garrison, the very place you consider this man to be. The other soldiers would quickly learn of your views.' He looked up at Gedge in a sober fashion. 'Do you wish to endure that? Or would you be willing to simply go one to Mars, knowing that at the very least you have foiled an attack against this woman, and made the assailant aware that such actions are not condoned?'

Gedge looked at him in dumb misery. He had not considered the time that would be needed for investigating and punishing the wrong doer. The thought of being alone in the garrison, surrounded by men who should be his comrades but more likely would regard him as a traitor, shook him deeply. He opened his mouth to say he would say nothing further, and simply wanted to go to Mars, when he thought of the girl looking up at him and the way she had collapsed down to the ground. He took a deep breath.

'Lieutenant Bracy,' he said, 'I'll be sorry to see the regiment go arout me, but I have to stay, like you said. I'm the only one that saw.'

Bracy looked at him for a long and silent minute, and then he nodded. 'Good lad,' he said, 'good lad.' He turned to Gee and said, 'Thank you, Sergeant Gee. You may go.'

'Sir,' said Gee, saluting.

Bracy waited until Gee had closed the door, and then looked over his notes, saying, 'Let us attempt to make some more precise statements, Gedge.'

'You believe me, sir?' whispered Gedge.

'Yes,' said Bracy simply. 'I believe you.'

The sound of those words buoyed Gedge's heart immensely, while at the same time bringing a desire to wipe at his eyes. He told himself fiercely that there was no time to act in such a soft way, and he must be ready to answer his officer fully.

'The assailant,' said Bracy. 'Can you estimate his height?'

Gedge felt unsure, remembering the sneering way the same question had been asked of him earlier. However, Bracy was not waiting for him to fail, but was merely sitting patiently. 'He must have been very tall, sir,' said Gedge, 'he easily hit that girl in the head.'

'Hmm,' said Bracy. 'Well then, how tall was the native?'

'I'm not sure, sir,' said Gedge, 'she was on the ground, it was difficult to tell, I didn't really get a chance to see her other than up close. Oh, and when they laid her on the stretcher, of course.'

Bracy stood up. 'Compare her to my height, Gedge.'

Gedge looked Bracy up and down, thinking hard. Closing his eyes he saw the girl and the way she had slumped against the wall before sliding down to the ground. He imagined Bracy lying against the same wall and tried to see them side by side. He opened his eyes as the picture came clear.

'An inch or so taller than you, sir,' he said.

'I am six foot, so six-one or –two,' mused Bracy. 'That is not at all tall for a native. She may be quite young, Gedge. A mere child, the cowardly dog! We shall have to talk to her, to see what she can tell us.' He smiled at Gedge again, 'Now that you have remembered her height, can you tell me the man's?'

'Maybe a little below your height – a half inch only, sir.'

'Good, good,' said Bracy, writing feverishly. 'Now, we must see if you can remember any more details.' He waved at a chair.

'Sit down, sit down,' he said. 'We will be here all night.'

Gedge cautiously lowered himself onto the chair, ready to spring up again. For hours, Bracy asked him questions, but as they were designed to elict information rather than to bully him into submission he found them both comforting and surprising. He had never had an officer's attention for such a long time, and he for once felt he was understanding things completely. He gave details on the victim and assailant he would have thought he had quite forgotten, and spoke, with Bracy's encouragement, until his mouth and tongue were dry. Finally, when he had given up all hope of ever stopping, Bracy collected his notes together and tapped them into order.

'Well done, Gedge,' he said. 'I am confident we will at least see the investigation make a good start, although we will perhaps not see the end.'

'Yes, sir,' said Gedge, trying not to sound heartbroken at his imminent enforced stay in the garrison. He found he could keep his voice calm, although within him he felt as if the world was tumbling down around his ears.

Bracy pulled out his watch and blinked sleepily at the face. 'It's three am, Gedge,' he said. 'You must get some sleep and awaken refreshed. You must tell Sergeant Gee tomorrow that you are excused from the exercising on my orders. We will go to the garrison hospital wing and speak to the girl as early as practicable.' He smiled and laid a kind hand on the shoulder of the young soldier, who was now swaying slightly from sheer exhaustion.

'Don't worry, Gedge,' he said, 'we will get to the bottom of this. Get some sleep now. Tomorrow, you and I shall be detectives.'


	9. Chapter 9

**In which investigations are begun.**

 

 

The next morning Gedge sat, tired but peaceful, in the mess hall, finishing every last drop of tea left over after the breakfast. He took his mug over to the window that allowed him a sight of the parade ground through a gap between buildings, so that he might enjoy the sight of his friends running without him. When there was no more tea, and not even a single slice more of bread could be coaxed from the kitchen workers, he checked that he was neat and tidy and then presented himself at Lieutenant Bracy's office. He had been waiting only a short time when Bracy arrived, and gave him a quick smile.

'Ah, Gedge,' said Bracy. 'I trust you are rested enough for the day ahead?'

'Yes, thank you, sir,' said Gedge.

'Well, let me see that I have our notes from last night. Now. Let's be off.'

Gedge fell in behind him and they marched quickly out on the way that led to the garrison. Bracy was alert and smart, showing little sign of the exhausting night he and Gedge had undergone. 'You take that to heart, Bill Gedge,' thought Gedge, 'don't you show him up.' He marched as smartly as he could, as if every officer ever commissioned was watching and waiting for him to slip up.

When they reached the garrison they were directed to the office of a Lieutenant Fitzwilliam. Having located both the office and the officer, Bracy and he shook hands, and Bracy explained his mission.

'This soldier witnessed an assault on the native girl brought to your hospital wing yesterday,' said Bracy. 'I wish to speak with her to see if she can remember any details of the assailant's appearance. I trust that this is possible?'

'Why should you concern yourself with one of the natives?' asked Fitzwilliam. 'She'll have been given proper attention. We have experience with dealing with them – the doctors have had frequent visits by them looking for help of various kinds.'

'This girl may be able to provide details to flesh out the statement given by the witness, here,' said Bracy.

Fitzwilliam looked in sudden interest at Gedge. 'This is the man with the preposterous idea that some soldier attacked the native girl, isn't he?' asked Fitzwilliam in a cold tone. 'I hope he isn't a typical example of the calibre of man you have under you, Bracy. I prefer men who have a sense of loyalty.'

'I have no complaints about Private Gedge's conduct or loyalty,' said Bracy. 'I would have thought the garrison would welcome an opportunity to show that its men were not engaged in such an unconscionable attack. May I question the girl?'

 

'Oh, very well,' said Fitzwilliam, 'although I am sure the sergeant who was on the scene has already spoken with her.'

'Thank you,' said Bracy, 'come along, Gedge.' He led the way again, with Gedge refusing to allow himself to look either to the left or the right, despite feeling that any man they passed was looking at him in deepest dislike.

'It'll only be a couple of months,' thought Gedge, 'and then I'll be back where I belong.' He concentrated his mind on the fact that Bracy had promised that he should indeed rejoin the regiment and found the thought gave him strength. 'He won't break a promise,' thought Gedge. 'He believed me, so I must believe him.'

Once they entered the hospital wing, Bracy immediately signalled to an orderly.

'The native girl who was brought in yesterday evening. Where is she?' he asked.

'Native girl, sir? I don't know,' said the orderly.

'Well then, where can I find someone who would know? Or can you tell me where a native would be likely to be put in here?' said Bracy.

'Doctor Dowson is making his rounds, sir,' said the orderly. 'He's in the wards, down the corridor here.'

'Thank you,' said Bracy, and strode down the corridor with Gedge following him. They came into a bright and airy ward, with only a few beds occupied. A middle aged man was shaking his finger at one of the patients, appearing to chastise the man.

'No, sir,' the doctor said, 'this will not do. I have told you before, the native food is harmless to us. I will not have you presenting yourself every week in this condition. If you feel it disagrees with you, then do not eat it.'

'Doctor Dowson?' said Bracy, 'I am Lieutenant Bracy of the 404th Royal Fusiliers. I need to speak to one of your patients, the native girl who was brought in yesterday evening – I have already discussed this with Lieutenant Fitzwilliam. Is she capable of receiving a visitor?'

'The native girl?' asked the doctor, 'oh, she was discharged last night.'

'Last night?' asked Bracy in surprise, 'but was she not brought in only a short time before?'

'She wasn't severely hurt,' said the doctor. 'It isn't my custom to keep the natives in longer than I can help, using up supplies and beds meant for the men of the garrison.'

'Yes, I can see she would have placed a strain on your resources,' said Bracy, looking round at the empty beds. 'Can you tell me the nature and extent of her injury?'

The doctor sighed but led the way to his office, where he took some papers out of a filing cabinet. He looked through them, muttering to himself, and then plucked out a single sheet.

'Yes. Native, female. Bruising to the back of the head – she was it seems flung against a wall. A cut to the head, requiring stitches. Some bruising on the body, but probably not connected to the attack. She regained consciousness and was discharged at one am by the orderly on duty – as he had been ordered to do if necessary.'

'Necessary?' cried Bracy. 'You find it necessary to discharge a patient at one am?'

'She was disruptive,' said the doctor, looking over the sparse sheet. 'She was making enough noise to disturb the patients. Do not look so disapproving, sir. You do not have to stay here, you do not understand. It is an act of charity that we extend medical care to any native who comes seeking it – I will not endure such disruptive behaviour on their part.'

'What is her name?' asked Bracy, 'And where might we find her?'

'It does not give that information,' said the doctor. 'No doubt she went to the nearest village, about an hour's walk from the city.'

'You did not take her name?' asked Bracy incredulously.

'She was insensible when brought to our care, and did not give a name when she awoke. Such behaviour is not uncommon, Lieutenant Bracy. Again, you are not the one who has experience in dealing with these natives. I assure you, she was treated well, but our first duty is to the men of this garrison.'

'Thank you,' said Bracy. 'Can you be more definite in the location of the village?'

'An hour's walk to the south-west,' said the doctor, 'but she is well enough – there is no need to concern yourself about her.'

'One further matter, Doctor,' said Bracy. 'In your opinion, was this an adult woman?'

'No,' said the doctor, 'a girl in her teenage years, by our standards, I would estimate.'

Bracy nodded and took Gedge with him out of the hospital wing and back to the office of Lieutenant Fitzwilliam. He paused outside the door. 'I should not be long, Gedge,' he said. 'Wait here for me.'

'Yes, sir,' said Gedge. He relaxed into a slouch the moment the door closed, and then thought he was looking sloppy and the men of the garrison would despise both him and the 404th, and might even laugh inwardly at Lieutenant Bracy as being unable to maintain discipline. He straightened up at once. From the other side of the door he heard raised voices and stood straighter, not wanting anyone who passed to think he might have been eavesdropping. After a few minutes the door opened and Bracy came out, his face set and angry.

'Come, Gedge,' he said, 'let's get off.'

Gedge marched fast behind him, keeping quiet until they had safely left the garrison once again. He cleared his throat, saying, 'Sir? I wouldn't have thought she'd be able to walk an hour in the middle of the night. She was hurt, sir, no matter that that doctor said it wasn't much.'

'It would seem she was given little choice,' said Bracy. 'Never mind. We will go to this village and we will find her. It seems that you will have your exercise after all, Gedge.'

'Well, a walk's not so bad, sir,' said Gedge. 'Better than all that runnin', anyhow.'

Bracy gave a quick laugh and pointed out their way. They walked smartly, at a pace they could easily maintain for the whole journey. As they walked, Bracy rehearsed the points of Gedge's statement, and urged Gedge to think of any details he might have not remembered until that moment. After what was very definitely more than an hour once they had passed the confines of the city, they saw a large village of graceful white stone houses, with fields beyond. They began to pass natives who looked solemnly at them and then turned about their business.

'We should make a start on our attempt to find her,' said Bracy, and walked up to the native man currently watching them. 'Excuse me,' he said. 'We are looking for the young woman who was injured yesterday in Victoria City. Do you know where –'

The man shook his head before Bracy could finish, and would not look at them any more. Bracy looked surprised, but said nothing, approaching another person with the same results.

'We'll go straight into the village and hope for a more co-operative attitude there,' he said. 'We will split up and ask every inhabitant, if needs be.' He walked determinedly into the village and began stopping people.

Gedge followed him, politely talking to everyone whom Bracy had not spoken to. ''Scuse me,' he started, time and again, 'We're lookin' for the young lady that was attacked in the city last evening?' Often he did not get even that far before his interlocutor was shaking his or her head. Gedge began speaking faster, assuring the natives he spoke to that they wished to bring the assailant to justice. He decided that he would have to start knocking on doors as well, and did so immediately.

''Scuse me,' he said at the first door, 'but I want to help the young lady that was attacked in Victoria City, d'you know where I could find her? She was wearing a sort of plum coloured coat.'

The person shut the door in his face. Gedge blinked and went to the next house, and the next and the next. He rejoined Bracy, feeling low in his misery.

'Don't they know about her, sir?' he asked, 'or don't they want to help us? We're tryin' to help!'

'No doubt there is a common knowledge that she was hurt by a man, and so all men have become suspect,' said Bracy. 'We just have to keep asking, Gedge, and hope that she did not go on to a further village. Come now, don't look so glum. It's not even lunch time – we have barely started. Back to work, Gedge.'

Gedge went back to knocking on doors with a renewed vigour. 'I hope as she's all right,' he thought. 'How horrid to think of her walking here by herself.' The door in front of which he stood opened, and he smiled, ''Scuse me –' he started again.

Finally, his feet tired and his heart sore, he knocked without hope at yet another door. A man opened and looked own at him from his immense height. ''Scuse me,' said Gedge.

'Go away,' said the man rudely and shut the door with a slam.

Gedge knocked again, annoyed at such a reception. At least other people had said they could not help, or had merely shut the door silently. The door opened and the man looked down on him in anger.

'I said –', he began.

'I'm looking for the young lady that was attacked in the city,' said Gedge in a rude manner himself. 'I want ter help her and have the man what attacked her prosecuted. D'you know where she is? She's young, and she was wearin' a plum coloured coat.'

'You cannot help her,' said the man. 'Go away.'

'Oh!' ejaculated Gedge, 'is she here? Can I speak to her? Please!' He turned and called out loudly, 'Lieutenant Bracy! Lieutenant Bracy!'

Bracy came running over. He looked at Gedge's excited face and smiled widely, saying, 'Have you had success, Gedge? Good lad!'

'I think this gentleman knows where she is, sir,' said Gedge, and to the native, 'alls we want is to have a word with her. We're tryin' to find the man that attacked her.'

'Yes,' said Bracy, 'the cowardly attack made upon this girl must be punished.'

The man looked at them, first at Gedge and then at Bracy. He looked over his shoulder and called out quietly. Soft steps sounded and the girl herself came to the door and looked at them with no small measure of fear. A bandage was fastened across her temple and forehead. The man put his arm protectively about her shoulders.

'What have you to say to my daughter?' he asked.

Gedge looked at her, overcome to at last have found her. Standing beside her father he saw how young she seemed, and how by the standards of her people she was small and delicate in her person and features. His carefully rehearsed set of questions deserted him and he found himself to his surprise shaking with fury that the girl should have been attacked and then treated so shabbily by the garrison doctors. He took a careful breath.

'Oh, miss!' he said, 'Are you all right? We've been looking for you all day! Please say you're all right!'

Faced with such vehemence, the girl took a step back. Bracy put a hand upon Gedge's arm.

'Softly, my lad,' he murmured. 'You are upsetting her. Miss,' he said to the girl, 'I must apologise if we use the incorrect form of address – we could not discover your name from the doctors. I am Lieutenant Bracy and this is Private Gedge. We are not from the garrison. Private Gedge helped you yesterday, do you remember?'

She looked up at her father, and then back at them. She gave a little nod of her head and looked closely at Gedge. 'You ran up,' she said very quietly, 'and chased him away. You said you weren't going to hurt me.'

'You remember,' breathed Gedge. 'You know I was tryin' to help.'

She nodded, just once, and turned away.

'You have spoken to her,' said her father, 'now, please go.'

'Wait!' cried Bracy. 'We want to catch the man! He must be brought to justice!'

The man looked at him seriously. 'In whose courts would he be tried? By whose laws? Is there justice for everyone in this court, or only for the English?'

'Justice, sir, knows no nation!' said Bracy passionately.

The man regarded him with what appeared to be pity. 'You are young,' he said, but did not close his door. He stepped back and gestured to the interior of the house. 'Please,' he said, 'enter.'

Bracy and Gedge removed their helmets and stepped into the room beyond the door. The house was simple, with only one room on the ground floor. There was a high bench along one wall, with stools standing before it. On the bench were tools and items of leather. Along another wall was a range which spread welcome heat throughout the room. Pots and pans were on the range, and the girl appeared to have been cooking before they arrived. In a far corner was an open flight of stairs leading to the first floor. There was a bright red carpet on the floor.

The young men breathed a sigh of relief at the comfort from being out of the chill air. Bracy smiled reassuringly at the girl.

'We must ask you some questions, Miss,' he said. 'Might we first ask your name?'

'Shifkha,' she said softly. No other name was given.

'Miss Shifkha,' said Bracy, 'please tell us what you remember of the attack.'

'I had thought to take some of the money my father had earned in the market,' she said.

'I am a leatherworker,' said her father.

'I wanted to buy some of your English sweets and some of your paper,' she said. 'As I walked up the lane that man accosted me and laid his hands on me. When I struggled he struck me. I felt dazed and sick and then heard you shouting,' she said to Gedge. 'And he ran away and you looked down at me, and I remember nothing else until I awoke in the garrison.'

'I am sorry to distress you, Miss Shifkha,' said Bracy, 'but please try to remember this man. How tall was he?'

'About your height,' she said, 'and he had brown hair and brown eyes.'

'Are you sure?' said Bracy, greatly pleased.

She nodded. 'I always notice when one of you has brown eyes – it seems so unnatural.'

'And did he speak?' asked Bracy.

'Only to tell me not to cry out,' said the girl. 'He sounded as do you all.'

'But Miss,' said Gedge, 'did he sound more like me or like the Lieutenant?'

'I am not sure,' she said.

'Are you satisfied with your medical treatment?' asked Bracy. 'Why were you so distressed in the hospital?'

'I thought he had brought me to the garrison,' she said.

'You were in the garrison,' said Bracy. 'You were brought there to receive help.'

She looked down and did not reply.

'Why did you think the man might have brought you to the garrison?' asked Bracy very gently.

'Because he was a soldier!' cried her father. 'Everyone knows how lawless they are as regards us!'

'Oh, to rob girls because they're an easy target!' said Gedge in outrage.

'What justice can you give us?' the man asked. 'You, too, are soldiers.'

'Have you proof, sir, of attacks carried out by soldiers?' asked Bracy, feeling sick. He turned to Gedge and said, 'Take Miss Shifkha out to the fresh air. Go on, lad.' He waited till the door closed and said, 'You have my word that she is safe with Gedge.'

'She will be watched by all our neighbours,' the man said. 'You are right, she will be safe.'

'Do your people think there is more than one attacker?' asked Bracy 'Or is it just one criminal that we must uncover?'

'Why should I say anything? Will it not bring trouble upon us?' asked the man.

'Private Gedge has already said he thinks it is a soldier from the garrison,' said Bracy. 'I want to cut out this rot. Such a person should not have the opportunity to hide behind a uniform.'

'The garrison does not heed complaints,' said the man. 'Your criminal hides behind his uniform and the walls of your garrison. I feel it must be one or two men, for otherwise more girls would be attacked.'

Bracy nodded and dropped his voice. 'Sir,' he said. 'Are we speaking of more than robbery?'

The man did not answer, just looked at him steadily.

'If you will not lodge a complaint, sir --,' said Bracy.

'No complaint we make is heard,' said the man. 'You keep your justice for yourselves.'

'I will give you justice,' said Bracy, his voice low with anger. 'This will not continue. Let me take a sworn statement from your daughter about what she remembers. And sir, if she is needed to give evidence, I beg you to bring her to the city or the garrison as required. I have good men, honest men in my command. She will be safe.'

'I will think on it,' said the man. 'I will call her in.'

Bracy took a careful statement from the girl and thanked her and her father for their time. Still cold with anger he walked out the door, Gedge behind him.

'We must hurry back,' Bracy said, 'I must speak with the colonel.'

'Do you know who it is, sir?' asked Gedge in excitement.

'No,' said Bracy, 'but you have set us on the right track, Gedge. I should have thought of it, but your questions have cleared things for me at last.'

'What, sir?' asked Gedge.

Bracy turned to him and seized him by the shoulders. 'You mustn't say anything, Gedge,' he said. 'Can I trust you?'

'You can trust me, sir,' said Gedge with deep feeling.

'Today you asked what I should have considered all along but did not – out of wrongful arrogance! You asked the girl how the assailant spoke, Gedge. A valid question when it seems that this attack was not a solitary occurrence and yet the garrison ignores it even though it appears widely rumoured that a soldier is to blame. And you said he was much my height. There is no reason why an enlisted man should not be tall – but Gedge,' said Bracy looking down at the lad, 'a tall soldier who feels free to carry out what may be multiple attacks and, it seems, can successfully use the garrison as a shield? An enlisted man would have been found by now.'

'Sir,' whispered Gedge, 'no.'

'He's an officer,' said Bracy in disgust, 'and I'm going to find him.'


	10. Chapter 10

**In which the investigation proceeds apace.**

'These are very serious charges you are making, Bracy,' said Colonel Graves, regarding the young officer standing before him with a sombre expression.

'Yes, sir,' said Bracy, 'I am aware of that. I feel that the theory fits the evidence, however.'

'The evidence you have presented to me, Bracy, is thin and circumstantial,' said the colonel. 'A man's height, his choice of footwear, your allegation that the garrison has been desultory in its investigations of crime committed against the natives and your inference that the criminal is an officer who abuses his rank – forgive me, Bracy, but you will need more than the statement of an enlisted man whose evidence has already been judged wanting and a native girl whose memory of the events must be coloured by terror and her head injury. A head injury, man! No magistrate or officer presiding at a military court would countenance her testimony.'

'Sir,' said Bracy with more patience than he in fact felt, 'consider that Private Gedge's evidence was judged wanting by a sergeant of the garrison who, it appears, attempted to frighten him by saying a case could be made against him as the assailant. Who refused the evidence he could give, on the grounds that he could not supply exact answers to questions the sergeant put to him. Private Gedge's statements have been corroborated by the statement of the victim, sir. He is a credible witness.'

'I do not doubt that, if you will vouch for him,' said the colonel. 'But this girl – is she a credible witness? I know you feel sympathy for her, Bracy, but consider the court's need to provide justice rather than revenge. Are you sure this girl has more than a basic understanding of the English tongue? Does she know the difference between the truth and falsehood – does her own society have these concepts? These are questions that will be asked, and asked seriously.'

'Sir,' said Bracy, feeling desperation rise within his heart, 'why are we here, on the Moon? Is it not to protect and care for these people and their interests? We cannot stand by and let them become our prey, for that is what is happening. Is our regiment simply to look aside and leave for Mars where, having learned that this goes unpunished here we might follow this example with another unhappy people?'

'Control yourself, sir,' said the colonel, 'and do not lesson me.'

Bracy came to attention and made no reply. Colonel Graves sighed deeply.

'Do not be so stiff and unbending in your views,' said the colonel, 'and stand easy, man. Listen to me, Bracy. If I order you to drop this, can I trust in your obedience?'

Bracy said nothing for a moment, and then calmly said, 'I hope you have always found me a good soldier and officer, sir.'

'I see now you may have the makings of a politician also,' said the colonel dryly. 'Come, sir, there is no need to adopt an expression of such resigned resolution. If you are aware of the difficulties ahead, you may attempt to carry out this task. You have but a few days, so all you may be able to achieve is to persuade the garrison to investigate. I will speak to Colonel Wolfe on your behalf – I will inform him that you will be discreet and respectful of his authority, as I know you will be.'

'Thank you, sir,' said Bracy. 'May I have Gedge? He has been extremely useful to me so far.'

'Yes, of course,' said the colonel. 'Well, that will be all, Bracy. Keep me apprised of your progress in your investigations.'

'Sir,' said Bracy, giving a precise salute and then taking his leave.

He went straight away to seek out Roberts, to recruit him into the investigation, and found him looking with great pleasure at the results of some target practice with the men. Bracy stood to one side and called out to him.

'Captain Roberts, if I might have a word with you?'

'Yes, Lieutenant Bracy? I will be with you momentarily.'

Bracy waited while Roberts spoke for some moments more with the men, and smiled at him as he came over at last.

'What is it?' asked Roberts, smiling back at his friend.

'This will take some time, Rob,' said Bracy quietly.

'All right,' said Roberts, and turned to the men, calling out 'Dismissed.' He turned back to Bracy. 'Shall we go inside and be warmer?'

'Best if we go to the house,' said Bracy, 'I do not wish to risk someone passing by our offices and hearing what I have to say.'

'You intrigue me!' cried Roberts. 'By all means, let us go to the house.'

They walked side by side to their quarters, speaking of things of no great consequence until they were safely out of earshot and sight of every other person.

'Well, what is it, Bracy?' asked Roberts, 'you have piqued my interest.'

'I hope I may also prick your conscience as an officer and an English gentleman, that you will help me save these things from becoming by-words for dissolution and corruption,' said Bracy.

'Why, whatever do you mean, old man?' cried Roberts.

'I have asked Colonel Graves for permission to pursue an investigation into the attack on the native girl, Rob,' said Bracy, 'for I have – with the aid of Gedge – come to an unwelcome realisation about the affair.' And he laid out all his speculations and the evidence upon which they were based. When at last he was finished he looked at his friend with a passionate and pleading expression, saying, 'Can I count you among my supporters in this, Rob? Will you help me find this man before he blackens the reputation of the Army and of Englishmen completely?'

Roberts regarded him silently, biting upon his lower lip. Finally he spoke, saying, 'You truly believe this person to be not just a soldier but an officer? Bracy, do you realise how extreme this sounds?'

'I would not suggest it unless I believed it to be so,' said Bracy. 'The witnesses –'

'Are an enlisted man and a native,' said Roberts. 'Come, I do not doubt that they have told the truth as they remember it –'

'Rob!' said Bracy, 'surely you don't mean to say you don't believe one of our own men? Or to imply that the natives cannot be truthful?'

'No, no,' said Roberts, 'but Bracy, think a minute. Do you expect a tribunal to accept such people's evidence against a brother officer? Perhaps if you had a dozen natives all of impeccable character to lay complaints, but you have said these people told you they do not even bother to do so. If they cannot be bothered to complain about alleged crimes, don't you think they will be seen as feckless and not to be taken seriously? And as for Gedge, can you imagine a tribunal taking him seriously?'

'What do you mean?' asked Bracy.

'For a start, they'll look at him and assume he lied about his age in order to enlist. If they consider him a liar – even a liar in the cause of patriotism – they'll not credit his testimony. And can you not see they will think of him as insubordinate and insolent to accuse an officer, especially in that dreadful common accent of his?'

'Roberts,' said Bracy, 'I never thought to hear such things from you. He's a good soldier, like all our boys. And the girl – Rob, she's a _girl_ , just a child. Don't you think injury to a child should be punished?'

'Bracy,' said Roberts and he paused, seeking words to continue. 'Of course I think Gedge is a good soldier. But good soldiers won't be seen as such by superior officers if they cause trouble – no, wait. I don't consider him a troublemaker, but this Sergeant Liddle – he'll cast poor Gedge in a bad light, and the garrison officers will be more likely to believe their man over ours. And the girl – if her father admits complaints are not made it will be assumed there are no complaints to make. The doctors say she was not badly injured, and in fact discharged her that night, indicating she was well enough to leave. And she then walked some miles by herself, bearing out this view – and showing that she seems not to have feared attack by an assailant.'

'She was not given a choice,' said Bracy bitterly. 'And I do not altogether believe the medical report, either.'

Roberts put a hand on his shoulder. 'I'm not saying I disbelieve them,' he said, 'I'm just asking you to consider how this tale will sound to men who do not know our boys or the girl in question. I'm not saying it's right – but it's how things are, Bracy. You know that.'

'It's not how things should be,' said Bracy. 'Gedge and the girl are telling the truth.'

'Well,' said Roberts, and fell silent. 'What do you want me to do?' he asked.

'Help me question the garrison NCOs,' said Bracy. 'We may perhaps find something of use. Such as this Sergeant Liddle who was so conveniently close at hand to act as a policeman, and who reported Gedge's evidence in such a bad manner. Help me gather information from the doctors as well. As I say, I do not trust the medical reports.'

'Do you really see conspiracies?' asked Roberts, 'why, you'll be blaming anarchists next!'

'Only if I find evidence against them,' said Bracy, forcing himself to smile at his friend. 'Come, will you help me? I have ordered Gedge to seek out information from the orderlies, but it will take officers to get information from the doctors and the non commissioned officers.'

'I'll help you,' said Roberts in a somewhat doubtful tone. 'Although I trust we will not find what you are looking for.'

 

 

* * *

 

It was late the next evening when the young officers finally returned to their quarters. They had spent the previous evening in Bracy's office, having successfully persuaded the garrison commander, Colonel Wolfe to allow them to take away medical documents relating to natives coming for treatment. The doctors had objected strenuously, finally being held back by Roberts and Gedge while Bracy ransacked the filing cabinets. Having taken everything that seemed of value, Bracy and Roberts had then spent all night reading it, and taking notes. Frequently native patients turned up on market days, the notes suggesting often that they had been drinking and had been clumsy. Another girl, a victim of a robbery, had similar wounds to the girl most recently attacked. Bracy had looked at the paper in grim satisfaction at the description of bruising on the body that was supposedly unconnected to the attack, making it seem her injuries were less severe than might be supposed. 'Ah, Doctor Dowson,' he thought. 'The very same wording. Let me find another and no one can deny that you are at the very least an unimaginative surgeon.' At last, having found another such case, and having amassed a sheaf of papers and notes, Bracy and Roberts had fallen asleep at the desk, their heads resting on the stacks of paper.

The day had been spent in questioning the non commissioned officers and the medical orderlies in the garrison. All the men questioned had been surly in manner and skirting the edges of disrespectful speech in their replies. It was obvious to both Bracy and Roberts that they were despised for their youth, their recent arrival from Earth and their temerity in investigating complaints made by the natives. More than once Bracy had to reprimand a man with whom he was speaking for using derogatory language regarding the natives, and calling them by vulgar terms. His interview with Sergeant Liddle, the man who had brought the girl and the four soldiers of the 404th to the garrison, was by far the worst.

'Do you patrol the area on every day?' asked Bracy.

'No, sir,' said Liddle, 'it's not always me.'

Bracy shot him a look of annoyance. 'Is the area patrolled by men of the garrison every day?' he asked impatiently.

'Yes, sir,' said Liddle, a small smile on his lips. 'The garrison provides policing for the city, there being no civilian force.'

'And is the area always policed by a sergeant with five men? Are the citizens of Victoria City so unruly?'

'Only on market days,' said Liddle. 'The loonies can get boisterous when they've been drinking.'

'That is a vulgar term, Liddle – you should not use it of these people. My witnesses describe the market as quiet and decorous. There were no displays of drunkenness.'

'Oh, they drink, sir,' said Liddle. 'And a crowd of drunk – natives – needs more than one man to deal with them.'

'I would very much like to see any notes of arrests you have made in the past year, Liddle,' said Bracy.

'Yes, sir,' said Liddle. 'If my superiors order me to turn them over to you, sir.'

Bracy regarded him in dislike. 'Why weren't you in the marketplace, if you were concerned about public order?' he asked. 'Private Davids found you a short way away, practically within earshot of the disturbance, and yet it took his report for you to move your men into the area. Did you see the assailant run past you? There was hardly any other way for him to run, was there?'

'My men and I saw nothing,' said Liddle sharply. 'Sir.'

No matter what questions Bracy asked of him, he did not stray from this point, nor would he agree that Gedge had any value as a witness other than in the most general terms, pointing out that his friends who had also been present could not corroborate what Gedge had said he had seen. Finally Bracy dismissed him in disgust.

* * *

'They are dissimulating, Rob,' cried Bracy, when he and Roberts at last returned to their house and flung themselves, exhausted, into armchairs. 'This Liddle, he knows full well that I saw he was untruthful, and he did not care. Davids ran in the same direction that the assailant had taken, and came upon Liddle and his men strolling the other way, as carefree as if they were on leave. There was simply no other way for the attacker to have taken, and yet Liddle boldly claimed he had seen nothing! And the medical officers – case after case with similar injuries and they blame it on drunkenness if they can and downplay the injuries if they cannot. Those men are rotten through and through!'

Roberts passed a hand over his eyes and then yawned massively. 'Come now,' he said, barely succeeding in keeping his eyes open. 'One or two only, surely. I cannot believe in this conspiracy of silence, Bracy. You are seeing enemies where none exist.'

'One rotten apple will spoil the whole barrel, Rob,' said Bracy. 'The assailant, whoever he may be, can have his tracks covered by others. Perhaps the first occasion was by his direct order, and the men, having found themselves implicated now repeat the offence to protect themselves. Perhaps they work under his orders at all times – or may be his associates in crime. I want him exposed for the vile creature he is, although I fear a full investigation cannot be undertaken before we must leave this world.'

'Who is this powerful officer, then, Bracy?' asked Roberts. 'I feel your search will compel you to climb ever higher in your speculations until you tell me that you suspect Colonel Wolfe.' He stopped in consternation at the queer look he saw on his friend's face. 'Bracy --,' he said.

Bracy gave an unwilling little laugh. 'No, Rob,' he said. 'I quite exempt the colonel from my suspicions, for although he does not like these suggestions of mine he was willing, on Colonel Graves' plea, to allow me to question these men. Besides,' he continued, 'the man is not of an age or fitness to run away as quickly as our witnesses say.'

Roberts shook his head. 'I fear you become obsessed, old chap,' he said. 'I am for bed. I need a bath – will you use it first, or shall I?'

'You bathe first,' said Bracy. 'I must examine my notes once more before sleep.'

'Do not sit up too late,' said Roberts. 'I shall lie awake worrying about you.'

'Nothing keeps you awake, but I shall pretend to believe you,' said Bracy, forcing a smile onto his lips. 'Go on, Rob. Have your bath and go to bed. I promise not to keep you up too long.'

When Roberts had left him he took out his notes and looked though them, the black ink swimming in his exhausted vision. Bracy found he could not easily concentrate on the words, and found himself instead idly noting how his writing had become more and more scrawled over the course of the day. 'I should rewrite these more neatly,' he thought, pulling fresh paper from the desk. Then he shook his head ruefully, acknowledging that anything he wrote while so very tired would be as illegible as the papers he already had. He put the papers down and rested his head in his hands, feeling all at once sad and bereft. Roberts did not believe him, and was helping him out of friendship rather than a conviction of the rightness of Bracy's arguments. It made him feel like an indulged child. 'Ah, Rob, Rob,' he thought. 'Can you not trust that I say these things based on evidence, not wild imaginings? There are patterns here that you do not wish to see.' He sat there some minutes more, vaguely thinking that he should bathe and go to bed, and all at once fell asleep where he sat.

He came awake with a hand shaking him and a voice saying his name.

'Bracy! Have you been here all night?' said Roberts. 'Come along, up you get. You need to wash and put on a less crumpled uniform, quickly. We are already late for breakfast.'

'Breakfast?' said Bracy sleepily, and then a wave of hunger woke him fully. 'Oh!' he said, 'I will join you in an instant, Rob!'

As they walked over to join the other officers of the 404th in the officers' dining room, Roberts teased Bracy about his devotion to his self appointed duty, saying, 'I am sorry I did not have the fortitude to lie on my notes all night, old chap. Your diligence was quite written on your face this morning.'

'I washed all the ink off,' said Bracy, quite cheerfully. 'Who shall we question today, Rob?'

'More questions?' said Roberts, hesitating slightly. 'Oh. Well, I shall leave that up to you, as you are the investigating officer.'

Bracy felt his heart sink a little, but he smiled gamely at his friend, saying, 'Let's consider it after we've eaten.'

* * *

After breakfast, Bracy told Roberts he had to think more on the notes they had accumulated, and that he would not need Roberts to help him for at least some hours. It was disheartening for him to see the broad grin that he received at these words, and he returned to their quarters alone, where he transcribed his notes into a form that was more legible, intending to show them to Colonel Graves. 'Perhaps no more interviews need to be taken at this time,' he thought. 'There are clear patterns that I see emerge. It might be more useful to have a medical man interview the doctors, to better see where they might withhold information. Surely Colonel Wolfe, when presented with this information, will see that he cannot but hold a full and thorough investigation into the conduct of the officers of his garrison. I will ask Colonel Graves to impress this upon him most strongly.' When he had his papers in order he strode from his house and found Gedge hesitantly shifting from foot to foot on the bottom step of the porch.

'Sir!' cried Gedge, his eyes lighting up, 'I heard you was here, sir!'

'Yes, Gedge,' said Bracy, 'what is it?'

'I jest wanted to know – that is, I was wondering, sir, if you've found him yet?' said Gedge in a rush.

'No, not yet, Gedge,' said Bracy. Then, a feeling of elation at being faced with someone who had not questioned his speculations in the slightest rose within his breast. 'Gedge,' said, 'come to my office and help me in this. I excuse you from your duties for the rest of the day.'

'Yes, sir,' said Gedge joyfully, and accompanied him to his office.

Once in Bracy's office the two young soldiers bent their heads over the notes and discussed the evidence excitedly, a feeling of camaraderie born of their shared purpose warming them.

'Don't it seem to you like Sergeant Liddle was holding something back, sir?' said Gedge, slowly reading over the transcription of the interview with the aforenamed sergeant.

'Indeed it does, Gedge,' cried Bracy, 'and the doctors seem not to be good men like our Doctor Morton, see how they use the same wording again and again to disguise the nature of injuries.'

'Yes, sir,' said Gedge breathlessly, reading the notes passed to him, his lips moving as he sounded out unfamiliar words.

'I feel certain that with this information Colonel Graves can press for a full investigation to take place,' said Bracy in excitement. 'We may hope for no more than a preliminary meeting of the most senior officers of the garrison before we leave, but they cannot ignore this now, Gedge.'

'Yes, sir,' said Gedge tonelessly, the light fading from his face.

'Why, what is it, my lad?' asked Bracy.

'It's jest I can't bear to think of you goin' on without me, sir,' said Gedge. 'I know I have to stay to give evidence, but I feel as I'm missin' everyone already.'

'Gedge,' said Bracy fervently, seizing the lad's arm, 'I will not leave you behind, not here. You'll give your evidence to the senior officers and you'll come on to Mars with us. This is no place for a good man such as yourself.'

'You won't leave me, sir?' asked Gedge, his eyes welling up.

'I will not leave you,' said Bracy firmly. 'Now, lad, I must go to the colonel and ask him to set everything in motion. Cheer up! We'll get this fellow, even if we ourselves will not be here when he is taken.' He patted the young soldier on the shoulder in a kindly manner, saying, 'I will tell you what the colonel proposes to do, once the other officers have been informed. Now, what I want you to do is to stay here, and to begin writing up the evidence that you will give as a witness. Here are the notes I took on the first evening. Be very sure and certain in what you write down – what you saw only, do not include speculations. When I return we shall go over your testimony in detail. I want you to convince others as you have convinced me, Gedge.'

He patted the lad's shoulder again and went straight to Colonel Graves, laying out all his speculations and showing him the notes from his investigation. The colonel looked through all the papers, stern and unsmiling. After he had read every word he looked up at Bracy once again.

'Bracy,' he said, 'we must leave this world in three days, and you cannot be spared from your duties to the regiment to continue with this investigation as a full time occupation any longer. Do you understand me?'

'Yes, sir,' said Bracy. 'Thank you for your forbearance in this matter, sir.'

Colonel Graves gathered together the notes in order and stood up. 'Come, sir,' he said. 'As I have said, time is short. We will go to see Colonel Wolfe and lay this out to him. He is an honourable man and will see the need for this to be resolved. Although we must go, I will not simply wash my hands of this – it touches upon the honour of all British officers. You have done well, Bracy.'

Bracy took a deep breath, feeling his mood lighten. 'The private soldier who witnessed the attack, sir,' he said, 'Private Gedge. I have told him he will give his testimony before we must leave and that I will ensure he comes to Mars with the rest of the regiment.'

'Quite proper,' said the colonel. 'I do not leave any of my men behind.' He looked at the notes in his hands. 'Certainly not in such circumstances,' he said, and led the way out of his office.


	11. Chapter 11

**In which the evidence is heard.**

 

Gedge threw himself into his bunk, half asleep before his head even touched the pillow. He sank into a warm dream in which he was peering with interest at the lions in the Royal Zoological Gardens while Lieutenant Bracy explained that in times past they had been fed on a diet consisting solely of Christians, but that in these more enlightened times they ate castor oil and giant mice. A hand shook his shoulder insistently, and he muttered incoherently, pulling the pillow over his head. The pillow was snatched rudely away.

'Bill!' cried a voice in his ear, 'Bill! Wake up!'

Gedge opened one eye and glared at Fred with all the effort he could. 'G'way,' he said.

'No,' said Fred. 'Not until you tell us what's goin' on, Bill. What've you been up to with Lieutenant Bracy?'

'Nothing,' said Gedge, becoming aware that it wasn't just Fred standing over him, and that every soldier in the regiment appeared to be crowding round his bunk.

'It ain't nothing,' said Fred decisively. 'You got yourself excuse from the Doctor's exercises, you went off with him the other day, you carried a pile of stuff for him and Captain Roberts yesterday and the day before, and today you ran off with him like the pair of you was being chased.'

'Yes! Tell us what's up, Bill,' called a voice from the back of the crowd.

Gedge seized his pillow back and leaned on it cheerily. 'I can't say,' he said, 'I'm under orders to keep mum.'

'Well, tell us where you ran off to today,' said Wilson eagerly.

'Same place I went off to before,' said Gedge mysteriously, liking the attention the other young men were giving him.

'Ah!' ejaculated Fred in annoyance, 'you're not being much use here, Bill. Go on, it ain't like we'll tell anyone.'

'You don't have to,' grinned Gedge, 'they're all here already. I'm awful tired, pard'ners. See you in the morning.'

He tried to lie down again but was shaken violently by all the soldiers that could physically reach him. He laughed and sat up.

'All right,' he said, 'I can't say nothing much, but I can say it ain't nothing to do with us. And it was the native village I was in earlier, a ways outside of the city.'  
A chorus of voices broke out, exclaiming 'Why?' but Gedge just smiled.

'I told yer, I can't say,' he said. 'Come on, pard'ners, let a fellow get some rest. It's awful tiring to be running after an orficer for days and bravely defendin' him from orderlies armed with bedpans.'

'Why was you defendin' him from orderlies?' asked Fred in what he seemed to think was a cunning way.

'You ever been hit with a bedpan?' said Gedge, laughing openly.

'You've got a low mind, Bill Gedge,' said Wilson in disgust.

'The orficers will tell us all tomorrow what's happening,' said Gedge. 'You can wait till mornin' roll call, can't you?' He lay down again and closed his eyes tight shut until he heard them all head off back to their own beds. Sleep did not come easily, however, and he found himself staring into the dark, remembering the day. He had been biting a pencil into splinters, trying to think of the most convincing way he could give his evidence when the door had burst open and Lieutenant Bracy had entered in a rush.

'Gedge!' he had cried, 'quick, lad! We must go to the village and beg Miss Shifkha and her father to come to the garrison in two day's time to give preliminary testimony! And we must find more complainants if we can – we have done it, Gedge, there will be a full investigation because of our work! Come on, let's get off as quickly as we can.'

Gedge yawned and pulled the blankets more snugly about him. They had run double time all the way to the village – 'I wonder why we call it a village?' he thought, 'It's a town, really' – and had beseeched Shifkha to come and give her account. After a long silence she had agreed, and they had enlisted her aid and that of her father in seeking out other people who might be persuaded to lay a complaint against the men of the garrison. When they had returned at last to the barracks it was dark and cold, and everyone bar the sentries had retired for the night. Gedge smiled into his pillow as he thought of himself and Bracy sneaking into the kitchens and devouring bread and butter like naughty boys that had been sent to bed without their supper. 'Oh, I hope he's there when I have to speak,' he thought, 'I won't feel so scared about talking to a colonel if I can jest look at Lieutenant Bracy while I'm doing it.' And with that comforting thought he fell asleep once more.

* * *

The next day brought fevered speculation to all the men, who were assembled after breakfast and told by Roberts that if anyone had any information, no matter how slight he thought it, about any offences they had heard of against the natives, that man should see him or Lieutenant Bracy at once. Those men that did found themselves giving the details to the young officers and being told that they would be required to repeat their stories for the garrison commander, Colonel Wolfe. Fred, Wilson and Davids went over their stories with both Roberts and Bracy until they thought every word was engraved upon their memories, and were much impressed with the attention to detail the officers possessed, and even more impressed when they were excused from the greater part of their duties to ensure they had spotless uniforms for the morning, when the officers of the garrison would hear their testimonies.

'Here, Bill,' said Fred, 'is this really what you've been doing? Helpin' the orficers look into this?'

'Yes,' said Gedge, freed from his silence at last. 'Lieutenant Bracy's been workin' ever so hard on this, and gettin' my help.'

'Why are you so caught up in this, Bill?' asked Davids, frowning at his just polished boot, and starting to polish it once again.

'I talked to that girl,' said Gedge, 'and I hope as the man what attacked her is found fast. I don't like the idea of an Army man doing that sort of thing.' He shook his head sadly. 'I jest had to do what I could, and Lieutenant Bracy thought the same. I had an orficer believe me when some people jest stood around sayin' they couldn't be sure of what I was sayin'.'

'Don't be like that,' said Fred. 'I wasn't sure. Yer didn't want me to lie jest 'cos yer my friend, did yer?'

'No, Fred,' said Gedge, smiling warmly at him. 'I'm jest sayin' it ain't everyday I've had an orficer so eager to help me out.'

'He ain't a bad sort, that Lieutenant Bracy,' said Wilson, 'here, Davids, do my boots too will you? And I'll sponge down your other tunic.'

'We're lucky to have an orficer like him,' said Gedge fervently. 'He didn't doubt me at all.'

'Ah well,' said Fred, 'that'll go when he's got a bit of experience. Hey!' He dodged the shoe brush that Gedge had thrown at him, laughing.

* * *

Roberts frowned at his boots in some displeasure, and tossed them to the floor.

'Disgraceful,' he said, 'they'll have to go and be polished again. Bracy! Are you going to stay in the bathroom all day?'

'I am done now,' said Bracy, emerging. 'I have to look presentable tomorrow.'

'You're going to a lot of trouble for no good reason,' muttered Roberts.

'What do you mean, Rob?' asked Bracy, rubbing a towel vigorously over his hair. 'Don't you think this will have a good outcome?'

'How will you know if one of the officers appointed to hear you and your case isn't your precious miscreant?' asked Roberts. 'If any of this _is_ true, isn't it rather like asking a cat to judge some mice?'

'I'll have to trust that Colonel Wolfe is a good judge of character,' said Bracy. 'Even though you think I see all the officers of the garrison as criminals, Rob, I fully acknowledge that it cannot be so, unless they are very abstemious criminals indeed. We are looking for one man or two, and the accomplices who cover up his crimes.'

'Still,' said Roberts, and poked a finger savagely at his helmet, muttering that he was sure a spot of wear upon it had not been there when he previously looked.

'What?' asked Bracy, 'Come, Rob. Tell me what is on your mind.'

'This whole affair,' said Roberts. 'It brings the Army into disrepute, rather. Don't you think so?'

'Attacks on civilians? Most certainly,' said Bracy.

'If there is to be an investigation it should be for Army ears only,' said Roberts. 'The natives should not be involved – they will respect us less for hearing these things.'

'Respect us less?' said Bracy slowly. 'Rob – I have spoken to these people. They see us as ravening wolves. This will assure them of our good intentions, it will show we will not stand for such actions. They must be involved, Rob, they are the injured parties. Don't you see that?' he pleaded.

'Imagine what the papers would do if they heard of this,' said Roberts. 'Do you really feel your family would approve of seeing your name in print, Bracy? In a case where your voice is raised against officers in good standing in favour of a native people that our people at home cannot but see as ingrates who do not appreciate our efforts on their behalf?'

'Rob,' said Bracy with some anger, 'our 'efforts' as you call them have included vile assaults upon –'

'They would fare worse if the Russians were here,' said Roberts, cutting across Bracy's speech. 'Or some of our closer Continental neighbours, for that matter. We keep these people safe, Bracy, even if they cannot understand or appreciate that. Come on, old chap, you know they're safer with us than with other imperial powers. Let's not fight, Bracy. Here, take my hand.'

Bracy took Roberts' hand firmly and shook it. 'I know you think I am mistaken in my views, Rob,' he said. 'I just want to be fair, I do not want to fight with you. If we are to bring civilisation to these worlds we must bring justice as well or the peoples of these worlds will hate us as cruel masters.'

'You don't think I'm cruel, I hope?' said Roberts softly, still holding Bracy's hand. 'We are under orders, old chap, and I hope we never receive any that conflict with your tender conscience. Now. Let's talk as little of this as possible until the morning. Get ready for dinner, quickly, quickly! I could eat an entire one of those little beasts the natives keep.'

Bracy smiled at him and readied himself quickly, and the two of them went on their way, fast friends once more.

* * *

The day passed too quickly for Gedge's liking, with the final preparations for their journey to Mars. The ship had been fully reprovisioned, they had been told, and all the mail from Earth to Mars, or from the Moon to Mars had been carefully collected and stored safely. All that was needed was the soldiers to get back on board and the ship could once more start its long and cold journey between the worlds. But the journey was far from Gedge's mind as he stood, nervous and chilly in the hallway outside one of the assembly rooms in the garrison. Beside him Fred and Wilson and Davids shifted from foot to foot and muttered about how they wished they were back in London. Sergeant Gee stood looking further down the hall to where a small group of natives stood, talking quietly among themselves. Gedge gave an encouraging smile at Shifkha, who nodded back silently.

'I wish I was back with the other lads,' muttered Davids. 'I want to cut and run.'

'That's why the captain has me out here with you,' said Gee, 'to stop you from scampering off to pick wildflowers.'

They regarded him with astonishment, but quickly decided that they had not heard the sergeant make a joke, and went back to worrying about what should happen when they were called before the officers. Their officers had entered the room over an hour before, and Gedge had been in an agony of nervousness ever since, imagining the garrison officers laughing at Bracy and refusing to believe his interpretation of the evidence. 'Oh, I couldn't bear for them to laugh at him,' he thought, 'not after all the work he did and after he believed Miss Shifkha and me.' A fierce wish to be in the room to defend Bracy warred with the desire to go back to the regiment and never again catch an officer's eye, although to the observer he seemed to be as calm as might be expected. The minutes wore on and he took deep breaths, as if he were planning on swimming far underwater.

At long last the door opened and a sergeant came out calling, 'Private William Gedge!'

'Go on, then, Gedge,' said Gee, 'and do us proud.'

'Good luck, Bill!' whispered Fred.

'Good luck!' said Wilson and Davids.

Gedge marched smartly forward and entered the room which seemed unpleasantly warm, despite the chill he had felt in the hallway. The senior officers of the garrison were sitting along a table facing the door, and the officers of the 404th were sitting on chairs to one side of the room. A soldier sitting at a desk to one side was busily taking notes. Gedge took all this in as he marched up to a spot before the centre of the table, came to attention and saluted.

Colonel Wolfe looked at him and said, 'Please state your name and rank.'

'Gedge, William, Private, 404th Royal Fusiliers,' said Gedge clearly and respectfully.

'Stand easy, Private Gedge. Now tell us, in your own words, exactly what you saw in the marketplace regarding the assault on the person of the native lunar girl Afi Shifkha.'

For a terrible moment Gedge's mind went completely blank, and all he could see was the hostile collection of faces before him. Several of the officers had dark hair and dark eyes, and he quailed at possibly giving his evidence before the man he wished to accuse. Then he saw a little movement from the corner of his eye, and moving the slightest amount saw Bracy looking at him in an encouraging manner. The young officer smiled slightly, and Gedge felt his strength return, and he took a last deep breath, looked Colonel Wolfe full in the eyes and began to give his evidence.

 

* * *

 

At lunch time the officers ate an uneasy and brief meal, none of the garrison officers quite meeting the eyes of the officers of the 404th, and it seemed, preferring not to meet each other's eyes either. Colonel Wolfe and Colonel Graves were sequestered away from the men, discussing the morning's events. Bracy watched the garrison officers carefully, noting the dark haired ones and thinking, 'Is it him? Or him?' Roberts drew him aside to whisper in his ear.

'I wonder how much longer it will be? We must make sure all is in order for the journey.'

'Colonel Wolfe will surely tear this place apart after this, to root out corruption,' replied Bracy. He frowned. 'I do not like the fact that some of the officers mocked Gedge.'

'At least they waited till he was out of the room,' said Roberts.

'They laughed at his manner of speech to deflect attention from what he said,' said Bracy.

Roberts held up a warning hand, 'Hush!' he said, 'here are Colonel Wolfe and Colonel Graves.'

'Shall we go back in, gentlemen?' said Colonel Wolfe.

They trooped back in, and every man sat down again. Colonel Wolfe sighed as he looked down at his papers, and then swept his gaze across his assembled officers, fury clear in his face.

'It has been made clear to me that the conduct of the men and officers of this garrison is far from above reproach,' he said in anger. 'Complaints have been laid against this garrison by native civilians, and the most recent case has been supported in evidence given by a British soldier. Due to these complaints, and the evidence amassed by an officer of the 404th Fusiliers I must authorise a full and immediate investigation into the conduct of all the officers and enlisted men of the garrison. All leave is cancelled, and curfew is in immediate effect. No officer or enlisted man stationed here may leave the garrison. Confine the men to barracks. We will start with the questioning of the men Lieutenant Bracy has pointed out: Sergeant Liddle, Privates Michaels, Paulson, Nicholls, Penn and Jones, Doctor Dowson and the medical orderlies Bowman and Stewart. I must thank the officers of the 404th Fusiliers for their aid in this matter,' he paused, and then went on, his voice bitter, 'but I trust you will leave us to put our own house in order now, gentlemen?'

'Of course, Wolfe,' said Colonel Graves, 'I very much regret that this has had to come to pass.' He looked around his own officers, saying, 'Gentlemen. Let us rejoin our men.'

As they left the room, Bracy met the gaze of one of the garrison majors, and recoiled at the hatred he saw there. The man had been one of the foremost in mocking poor Gedge's evidence, Bracy remembered, and had said that the natives were untrustworthy and not to be believed. He had been quite calm and composed in his opposition to the evidence presented, and had seemed merely concerned not to bring the garrison into disrepute by investigating false charges. 'It was the names of the men who will be interviewed next,' thought Bracy, 'that have made his control slip.' He paused and gave the man a cold smile. 'I have you,' he thought, 'I have you, you dog.' He turned his back upon the man and left.

They had been but a short time back with the regiment, and had been ensuring that preparations to leave were indeed almost finished when Bracy and Roberts saw a frantic soldier run through the gates and be challenged by the sentries.

'Let me pass!' he cried as the officers made their way over, 'I've got an urgent message for yer commandin' officer!'

'What's going on?' asked Roberts in annoyance.

'He jest tried to run in here, sir,' said one of the sentries in outrage, 'didn't stop when we challenged him or nothing!'

'Well?' said Roberts to the newcomer, 'what's all this about? Speak up, sir!'

'Beg pardon, sir,' said the soldier, 'but I'm under orders to deliver my message only to Colonel Graves, sir.'

'Very well,' said Roberts, 'come with me.' He strode away, the man running to keep up with him.

The sentries regarded this with some ill grace, and were only a little mollified by Bracy praising them. Their ill grace quite evaporated, however, at the astonishing sight that came into their view a short while thereafter. The newcomer soldier appeared again, running full out and by his side ran Colonel Graves. This so amazed the sentries that they quite forgot to salute.

'Sir!' cried Bracy, 'What is it? Do you need assistance?'

'Report to the Major!' cried Colonel Graves and ran on.

Bracy became aware of the sentries gossiping as he stood there dumbly, and he snapped 'As you were!' before hurrying off to find Roberts. All around the ground stood soldiers whispering to each other in consternation. More than once he heard the speculation of a native revolt. He found Roberts at last, discussing the final necessary preparations for the morrow.

'Ah, Bracy,' said the Major, 'no doubt you too are full of questions that I cannot answer. I want you to take some of the men and assist the Doctor in any way he finds necessary. I do not think we have any serious cases of injury, do we? Some sprains and a broken ankle, I seem to recall. Put the men you choose at the Doctor's disposal, to act as stretcher bearers and so on.'

'Yes, sir,' said Bracy, glad to have concrete orders to follow. Before he left he raised a questioning eyebrow at Roberts, who shook his head and shrugged.

It was some hours before Bracy and Roberts were summoned to the colonel's house, to find him standing with the Major, an unhappy expression upon his face. 'Gentlemen,' he said, 'I trust we are ready to leave in the morning? Good, good. Ah. Here is the good Doctor. Gentlemen,' he went on, 'as you know I was summoned in a precipitous manner to the garrison earlier. It seems that shortly before the interviews with the various men were to take place that one of the officers appointed to investigate the matter went to his house and shot himself. A Major Morris, who matched the physical description your witnesses supplied, Bracy. In an effort to save his life he was brought at once to the hospital wing, where it was discovered that the chief medical officer, Doctor Dowson, had locked himself into his office and was refusing to answer when called. Upon breaking down his door, it was discovered that he had taken poison. Arsenic, another of the doctors says. Major Morris died before he could be attended to.'

The other officers exclaimed in horror. Colonel Graves sat heavily in one of the chairs. 'The investigation continues, gentlemen,' he said, 'but I feel that those it was intended to flush out have taken matters into their own hands. Colonel Wolfe will hunt down the accomplices whom you indicate must exist, Bracy, but no one has much heart for the enterprise over there.'

'They would not have been hung if discovered, would they?' asked Bracy numbly.

'No,' said Colonel Graves, 'they were not accused of murder. But they would have been ruined, and it seems, could not bear to live with the shame of being exposed.'

'What will happen now, sir?' asked Roberts.

'Now,' said the colonel, 'we will continue to our destination, and we will leave the unhappy garrison to put itself in order, as Colonel Wolfe requested. A strong message has been sent to the men stationed here of the way in which disgraceful conduct toward the native population is dealt with. I do not think it is what you had in mind, Bracy, but it is a message none the less. Gentlemen, I must ask you to excuse me. I have no desire to eat tonight.'

The officers silently left the colonel's quarters, and went about their business.

 

* * *

 

The next morning, the men of the 404th marched from the barracks assigned to regiments in transit to other worlds, down to where the ship was docked and waiting. Their mood was subdued, as all of them had heard a mix of rumours and truth concerning the events of the previous day. Gedge felt confused, for although he had wanted the assailant punished, he now felt extremely guilty and thought he had driven a man to his death. 'Two men,' he told himself sadly as he marched along. Then he remembered Shifkha's face, battered and covered in blood, and the way she had come to give evidence at the garrison, despite being afraid. 'A dangerous animal would have to be destroyed,' Gedge thought, 'and that's what that man was. A brute, a dangerous animal, that's all. Not a proper orficer as looks after his men and takes care of people.' He looked ahead to where Bracy was talking with Roberts and watching the men enter the ship. He looked very tired and sad, and Gedge wished he could find a way to cheer him up. 'We did the right thing,' he thought. 'I hope as I can find a way to tell yer. We couldn't have stood by and done nothin'.'

As he passed, Bracy looked over at him and gave him a quick smile, and Gedge felt his heart lighten. He was glad to leave the Moon behind. It was time to get to Mars.


	12. Chapter 12

 

**In which the 404th reaches its new home.**

 

The ship's ascent from the Moon was easier and faster than that from the Earth. It seemed to Gedge that they sailed up into the sky as if they were as light as a dandelion seed, blown on by a child. The light feeling he had had the whole time on the Moon was soon replaced with the weightlessness he remembered from the voyage from Earth, and he had to re-accustom himself to the necessary sliding movement used for manoeuvring about the ship in the magnetic soled shoes. The days stretched out, with very little to do. The soldiers performed a regime of exercises devised by the Doctor, but these were much less strenuous than those they had performed on the Moon, and took a far shorter time to accomplish. Card games and writing letters home lost their attraction eventually, and the soldiers quite lost the inclination to sing, when they all knew what songs they would hear and who would sing them. Attendance at the on-board church services was a welcome break in the monotony of their daily lives, for at least a different selection of hymns was sung every time.

'I'm bored, pard'ners,' said Gedge, lying on his bunk and staring at the ceiling.

'We're all bored,' said Davids.

'If you go to the chaplain, he'll give you a Testament to read,' said Fred in a voice that suggested he was speaking in his sleep.

'I don't want to read,' said Gedge, 'I want to do something.'

'We'll be fightin' Martians soon enough,' said Wilson. 'I heard they're cannibals.'

'Savage cannibal 'eathen,' said Davids in great satisfaction.

'That's what we heard about the people on the Moon, and they were nice quiet folk,' said Gedge.

'Oh, well, of course we'll jest defer to your greater hexperience, Mr Gedge,' said Davids waspishly, 'seein' as we didn't have the luck to run round with an orficer gatherin' intelligence like you.'

'Give over,' muttered Gedge. He had barely seen Bracy since they had come on board the ship and he wished there was some service he might perform for the young officer so that he, Gedge, might see that all was well with him. 'I'm goin' to stretch my legs,' he said. 'Anyone comin' with me?'

'It's almost lights out,' said Fred. 'Why bother? Jest go to sleep, Bill. It'll make the time pass quicker.'

Gedge didn't reply, and simply unhooked the safety netting over himself and swung himself down to the floor, holding to the bunk frame while he slipped on the magnetic shoes. He went out the door and as fast as he could went to the rails where he had observed the stars on the voyage out from Earth. Everything was so black and cold looking. He put a hand on the thick glass and felt the heat drawn from his skin. He pulled the gloves he had bought on the Moon from his pocket and put them on, then leaned against the glass, looking out into the immense distances of space. 'Nine weeks from the Moon to Mars,' he thought. 'I wonder how long it'd take to go right out there to one of the stars.' He dreamed idly of the strange things that he would surely see on a world circling another sun, the great cities and the people who had built them. 'You'll see strange sights enough on Mars,' he told himself, 'you jest be satisfied with that.' A bell rang throughout the ship for lights out, and he reluctantly turned away from the window, a feeling of disappointed dissatisfaction within him. 'Don't be stupid, Bill Gedge,' he thought. 'There's no reason he'd want to talk to you.' He waited a moment longer, just to make sure, and then made his stealthy way back, avoiding being seen. He should have stayed in bed, he thought. It didn't matter how many times he went to the windows, he was always alone.

 

* * *

The tedium of the voyage also bore down upon the officers, although they had briefings about the situation on Mars to concern them and to occupy their minds.

'All is quiet from the last reports,' said the colonel, 'or at least as quiet as might be expected. Some activity among the tribes that have not been contacted may indicate the formation of raiding parties, but the settlements are well protected, and the Martians in the areas we control are our eager allies, thankful to have been freed from the annoyances posed by their wilder neighbours. The native regiments have had great success.'

'I'm not sure I like the idea of native regiments,' said the Major. 'Look at the case of the rebellion in India.'

'A case of sedition, stirred up by malcontents,' said the colonel. 'And quickly dealt with. The Martians appear to have no such taboos that can be manipulated by the evil-minded.'

'I'd be happier if the missionaries were having greater success,' grumbled the Major. 'You know where you are with the Church of England. These native religions – there are too many of them, and a man never knows when they want a day off or why they get offended.'

'We can't change them overnight,' said the colonel. 'Let us remember that these people should be treated with courtesy – the men shouldn't make fun of them, even if they seem rather queer at first.' He turned to the junior officers, saying, 'Well, gentlemen, how are your studies progressing? Well, I trust?'

'Quite, sir,' said Bracy, an open smile upon his face. 'Why, Rob can almost say 'Good day' – if he perseveres he should have managed it by the time we dock.'

'Laugh all you like, Bracy,' said Roberts, 'it's a dashed difficult language. At least the servants will have some English, won't they, colonel?'

'Let us hope so,' said the colonel indulgently. 'But put forth your best efforts, gentlemen. We should all work to learn at least a little of the tongue of the people we must deal with.'

'And once you have mastered the phrases and grammar set for you, you can gather information on the forms of the dialects spoken by other tribes,' said the Doctor genially. 'You would greatly help the march of knowledge by so doing.'

'Rather let us pay for a regiment of English teachers to come out,' cried Roberts in mock horror. 'Doctor, it is worse than Latin.'

'You must have been a desultory student at best, my dear Roberts,' said the Doctor. 'If you had desired to become a man of medicine rather than a man of war, then you would have seen Latin indeed.'

'Come now,' said Bracy, 'Rob, show us your learning and answer me this.' And he carefully said a phrase in the Martian tongue.

Roberts sighed and made a halting answer, while the Major laughed to hear such barbarous sounds issuing from the young officers' mouths.

'What did you say?' he asked.

'I said, "May I have water, please?"' said Bracy.

'Oh!' ejaculated Roberts in annoyance, 'I thought you were saying "How do you do?" and I answered accordingly.'

'It is quite similar,' said Bracy, and to the Major he explained, 'One appears to give a polite greeting by asking if a person has enough water, and they should reply that they have.'

'Dashed silly way of saying "How do you do?"' said the Major. 'Roberts is right, we should bring out a regiment of school masters.'

Bracy laughed along with the others, but later in the quarters he shared with Roberts he redoubled his efforts to make progress with the language, although he felt the book that he had been issued was sadly lacking in useful phrases, and made the grammar seem unnecessarily complicated. Nevertheless he grimly forced himself through the lesson before allowing sleep to overcome him.

'At last,' Roberts murmured when Bracy turned out the light and climbed into bed. 'You have no idea how much I've wanted you to stop reading for the night.'

'Sorry, old chap,' said Bracy quietly, feeling slightly guilty that he had been keeping Roberts up.

'Not at all,' Roberts said sleepily. 'I shall hang back and allow you to translate everything we find on Mars. Goodnight, Bracy.'

'Goodnight,' said Bracy. He found that sleep had quite deserted him, and lay there in the dark listening to Roberts' quiet breaths. He felt lonely all of a sudden, and wished that Roberts would waken and speak to him. After another half and hour had passed he quietly slipped from bed once more and dressed in the pitch darkness. He pulled himself cautiously from the bed to the desk and from thence to the door, exiting and closing it behind him before putting on his magnetic shoes. Then he made his way along the corridor, the soles of his shoes making their slight ringing, scraping noise as he went. The corridors were empty and silent, with only the dimmest of lighting. Bracy was wondering why they were lit at all when he was faced with a sailor hurrying along in the opposite direction. He stepped to the side to allow the man about his business.

'Good evening, Seaman,' he murmured.

'Spaceman, sir,' said the sailor with a quick smile, and was gone before Bracy could formulate a reply.

Bracy gave a stifled snort of laughter and continued on his way. Soon he reached his goal, the railings of the ship with their shutters and inset windows. It was always quite deserted after lights out and he could have perfect peace to think and be alone. It was difficult to find anywhere to be alone on a transport ship, and usually he valued the opportunity highly. Tonight, however, he felt not alone but lonely. Looking out into the emptiness with its still and cold white points of light he thought of the green English countryside warmed by the light of a near and friendly star, and longed desperately to be there. 'This will never do,' he thought, 'I must not give in to such weak thoughts. I am an officer and must conduct myself accordingly. Now, Bracy! No more moping, go back to bed and try not to wake poor Rob as you do so.' He looked for a long moment more out the windows, shivering before the vastness of eternity and wishing there were someone there to take his hand and assure him that he had a part to play in the incomprehensible immensity of life across the worlds. Then he made his way back quietly, seeing no one.

 

* * *

 

It was nine and a half weeks after they left the Moon that the 404th finally heard the welcome news that they would dock on Mars, in the city of New London. The men had been packed for a day and half, hoping it seemed by this to influence the ship to move faster. They lay upon their bunks, feeling the weight gradually return to their limbs once more and settling slowly into the mattresses. Their bodies were tense, not this time with fear and dread, for they had quite convinced themselves that they were experienced travellers between the worlds, but with the youthful urge to be up and doing something before their strength and vigour had quite atrophied with boredom.

At last the bell that signalled it was safe to move about the ship rang and all at once the silence was broken with the sound of the soldiers flinging themselves down from their bunks, and catching up their kit bags eagerly while they awaited the orders to assemble. The knock at the doors did not come a moment too soon, and soon the corridors were thronged with excited and cheerful young men, all chattering in a gay and carefree manner until the sergeants called out for silence and took the roll. Then the long queues of men moved slowly along to hand in their magnetic soled shoes, giving thanks that they should not have to see them again for a long time.

After an eternity that weighed upon their hearts, the men moved slowly off the ship and stepped down onto the Martian soil. Those who had disembarked first slowed and stared around them, causing those behind to call out in annoyance and be reprimanded by the sergeants. Gedge shoved at the men before him and finally jumped down to the ground. He felt somewhat heavier than on the Moon, but still much lighter then he had been on Earth. He peered first at the rusty red soil in interest, and then raised his eyes and looked about him, wanting to take in everything at once. He grew very still, and his mouth opened in astonishment. He barely felt the men behind him shove at his back in annoyance. The city of New London gleamed before them, tall and graceful spires of red and yellow stone reaching to great heights, broad canals of water along which small boats plied a slow way shining in the light of the sun, and open parks where grass shone emerald green attracting the eyes.

'Oh!' he breathed, 'it's byootiful.'

'Get a move on, there!' cried Sergeant Gee, 'form into ranks! Move away from the ship, you're blocking disembarkation!'

'I thought as the city'd only been here a few years,' said Gedge, never once taking his eyes from the sight before him as he obediently went to his place in the ranks.

'That's what I thought,' said Fred. 'Look at them buildings! They're taller than St Pauls!'

'How'd they do that?' wondered Gedge. 'I never thought it'd be like this, did you?'

'No,' murmured Fred. 'Never.'

The order to march was given and they moved quickly along the broad roadway that ran from the ship's docking area to the city. As they approached they saw the buildings were in fact larger than they had at first thought, and every soldier's eyes grew rounder and rounder. One of the canals lay in their way, vast and deep with water that reflected the spires. They were marched over a broad open bridge, its lack of a balustrade making it seem all the larger. Gedge cast his eyes down at the smooth red stone and felt himself shake with excitement.

'Fred! Fred!' he hissed.

'What?' whispered Fred.

'Look down! Look at the bridge!'

'What about it?'

'I don't see no join marks, do you? None at all. It's just one solid piece of stone, Fred,' Gedge squeaked.

'Don't be silly,' said Fred dubiously. 'That ain't possible.'

'Maybe it ain't, but we're walkin' across it,' crowed Gedge in delight, reining in his excitement as Sergeant Gee came up to restore order.

'You keep your mind on marching, Gedge,' said Gee, scowling as Gedge became under his gaze the model soldier.

When Gee had gone to torment some other poor soul Gedge looked around again, and was buoyed up even more to see the regiment's officers strolling along ahead, looking around them in delight as the freedom of their rank allowed and pointing out sights of particular interest to one another. He wished he had the freedom they had, thinking that if he had he could say 'Hullo, Mr Bracy,' but lacking this liberty he merely hoped that the lieutenant would glance his way as he passed. Ah, happy Gedge! For it seemed that his hope had reached a merciful and beneficent ear and the officers turned to look at the men going by. At the last moment before he would pass by the little group, Gedge was overjoyed to see Bracy catch his eye and smile. Emboldened by this and feeling it gave him permission to act at least a little more freely, Gedge smiled back widely and touched the rim of his helmet. Bracy laughed and nodded to him, and Gedge marched on smartly, a spring in his step.

'You're lucky old Gee didn't see you being familiar with an orficer,' said Fred.

'I wasn't being familiar, I was being friendly,' said Gedge with a solemnly mischievous tone, 'there's a difference.'

'Not to Gee, there ain't,' muttered Fred. 'Still, it's yer hide.'

Having marched round the edge of the city they came upon their quarters, a vast and low lying complex of buildings made of the area's red stone, but somehow lacking the glimmer and sparkle of the towers and the bridge. Gedge felt cheated, and looked up at the graceful towers longingly. There was hardly any breeze and he was beginning to feel unpleasantly hot in his woollen uniform.

'I'd like to be up there,' he said, looking out the window of his barracks. 'Windows up there would catch any breeze going.'

'I wouldn't be quartered up there if I was paid,' said Fred looking at the tower that had particularly attracted Gedge. 'S'pose it fell down? It's too thin and tall to stay up, it jest don't look safe.'

'It wouldn't fall down,' said Gedge, driven to protect his lovely tower. 'No one would build something like that if it wasn't safe.'

'Hmm,' said Fred. 'Where did Wilson and Davids get to? They said they'd be back directly. They must have found food, c'mon, Bill. Stop starin' at that old thing. Anyone'd think you were in love.'

He dragged Gedge away from the window and down the hall where they indeed found Wilson and Davids along with the rest of the regiment, eating cheerfully.

'Thanks for tellin' us,' said Fred.

'Didn't you hear us call up to you?' asked Wilson, grabbing another thickly cut slice of buttered bread.

'No, it must've been drowned out by the hammerin' of Bill's heart when he was gazin' on his new love,' said Fred gleefully. 'He's become an arckitekt, has Bill. You got any questions about buildings, he's got answers.'

Gedge laughed along with the others happily. He felt very gay; he had seen the Moon and now he was on Mars. He had already seen things that he could never have imagined in London, and knew deep within his heart that he would see many more. He felt as happy as could be as he chewed peacefully on his bread and put his feet up on the bench, secure in the knowledge that he was exactly where he wished to be.


	13. Chapter 13

**In which the 404th settles in to their new surroundings.**

It was hot on Mars. While the men had complained and grumbled about the chill they had felt on the Moon and on board the ship, they did not now consider their previous prayers answered, and complained and grumbled about the heat. They had been promised uniforms of a lighter material as soon as possible, but felt that this would be at some distant time long after they had all melted away. Among themselves they debated whether it would have been preferable to be posted to a hot clime on Earth, some saying yes, some saying no. Gedge was fervent in his views that no better posting than Mars could be imagined, with its warmth and its remarkable city. He longed to be allowed into the city to explore it, but no leave would be granted until they had settled in. He contented himself by wandering around the Army compound, examining the minute specks of native life that had ventured within the walls. A tiny flower with petals of so dark a red that he at first thought them black had seeded itself within a crack in the wall. Every morning he crept out and poured a little water on it, watching it flourish. He wondered if it were common or rare, and thought that he might press it in paper and send it to his mother the next time a ship brought soldiers or colonists.

What Gedge longed for, however, was to hold conversation with a Martian. There were some within the compound, acting as the officers' servants, but he had never come across one at close range, nor when he was free to talk. They were tall, like the people on the Moon had been, although not to so great a height. Unlike the natives of the Moon, however, they were not pale with white hair and pale blue eyes. They were dark, a rich dark red-brown like the mahogany used for officers' furniture, and their hair was as black as tar. Their eyes were lighter than their skin, shading from a pale brown to a deep gold. The Martians who worked within the compound wore clothes that resembled what Gedge was used to, with trousers of a light material and shirts with long sleeves over which they wore a light jacket. The Martians he had glimpsed outside the compound, going about their business, were dressed in knee-length kilts of brightly coloured fabric with sleeveless short tunics belted over them for the men, and long robes with sleeves for the women. Most marvellous to Gedge was the realisation he came to when looked at their hands; they were not simply long fingered and thin, but bore on each hand one finger more than he was used to. When he had first realised this he found he could not restrain himself from staring at their hands, and had done so until one of the Martians carrying linen into the officers' houses had stopped and looked back at him and then deliberately turned his back. Gedge had blushed, knowing how discourteous he had seemed. 'I hope he don't think I meant to be rude,' he had thought, worrying, and wishing he dared go up to speak. He promised himself that he would speak to a Martian as soon as ever the possibility presented itself.

In common with all the men, Gedge found the Martian food not really to his taste, a fact that caused him much distress as he was determined to like everything about Mars. He and the other soldiers were used to plain food, and, since they had joined the Army, enough of it. The Martian food was a mixture of both bland and spiced – too bland and too spiced. The men, upon first meeting it, had found it impossible to eat enough to fill their stomachs, and complained bitterly. Many had taken themselves to the Doctor with stomach aches both real and imagined. Since then they had been fed with as close an approximation of the food they previously had been used to, although the meat they were served had a curious texture, and despite being most clearly from a large animal tasted disquietingly of chicken. Gedge was sure that if he could only eat small amounts of the Martian food he would become accustomed to it, but of course the kitchen workers couldn't be asked to prepare individual meals. He rather thought the kitchen workers were feeling offended, in any case, from their food being left uneaten.

 

 

* * *

 

'Please bring us some more coffee,' said Bracy carefully to the Martian who was standing quietly by him. The tall figure bowed politely and left, coming back shortly with a full pot which he poured for Bracy and Roberts.

'Well done, old man!' said Roberts. 'You're getting better – they seem to understand you, now all you need is to understand them.'

'You should practice as well, Rob,' said Bracy. 'Say something to the fellow when he comes back.'

'I shall leave that in your more than capable hands,' smiled Roberts, drinking his coffee and gasping slightly. 'What do they put in this?' he asked plaintively.

'They make it quite strong,' said Bracy in agreement, 'and they seem to add some of the native spices. The Doctor says they aid the digestion, especially in the heat.'

'I preferred the plain coffee we had a while ago,' said Roberts. 'How pleasant it is in the evenings! Not nearly as stifling as in hot countries on Earth.'

'It is pleasant,' agreed Bracy. 'See how the light fades from the towers!'

'Don't they seem to you rather Arabic in design?' asked Roberts.

'On a massive scale, yes,' said Bracy. 'I wonder how they were built?'

'With armies of slaves, no doubt,' said Roberts. 'We're having a dashed hard time stamping the practice out.'

'They're old,' mused Bracy. 'I don't see how they could have been built, even with a dozen armies of slaves. They're too perfect, too big.'

'The pyramids are big,' laughed Roberts. 'Maybe the Martians built them, or the Egyptians came here and built these.'

'The pyramids show their age, but these do not,' said Bracy. 'Well, however they were constructed, they are very fine. Do you think the natives object to their being used as government buildings?'

Roberts shrugged. 'They've been government buildings since we came to this world. I didn't think anyone was using them before we came.'

'Imagine having to climb all the stairs to the top floor!' laughed Bracy suddenly.

'The Doctor would approve,' said Roberts. 'We must make sure never to mention it in his presence, old man. Ah! Here is our friend back again.' He signalled to the Martian and haltingly spoke some phrases. The Martian cast his eyes down quickly, and bowed and withdrew. Roberts frowned. 'Did I not just ask for tea instead of coffee?' he said. 'I'm sorry, Bracy, you'll have to drink the coffee yourself.'

'I thought that was what you asked for,' said Bracy, 'with some of their sweetmeats?'

'Yes,' said Roberts, 'but he was laughing at me, was he not?'

'It did seem so,' said Bracy, trying himself not to laugh at his friend's expression.

'Perhaps I do need more practice,' said Roberts cheerfully, 'no doubt I asked for the juice from shellfish instead of tea.'

'Turn your mind from shellfish, Rob,' said Bracy. 'In this heat nothing could induce me to eat such a thing. They would certainly be poison to us – why even the mention of them makes me ill!' He shuddered. 'What do you think of the colonel's plan to give our boys this new training?' he asked. 'Do you think they will take to it?'

'I hope so, old man,' said Roberts. 'I'd like to show the Doctor that they make fine soldiers despite his low opinion of their bodies. We must decide which of them are the best for us, Bracy, for I am in earnest – I want the Doctor to be made admit his views are baseless in regard to them. Tomorrow we must choose some nice thin lads, hey?'

'There are no shortage of those,' smiled Bracy. 'Even though they have filled out somewhat, there are none of them could be described as other than thin.'

'Thin and small,' said Roberts. 'That's what I want.'

'They will be admirable, Rob,' said Bracy. 'We'll show the Doctor the magnitude of his injustice toward the boys.'

When the Martian servant reappeared with the tea and a plate of the tiny and very sweet confections that Roberts had asked for every day since they arrived, Roberts thanked him in a far better accent, and the Martian did not laugh at all.

'You'll get fat if you eat too many of those,' said Bracy, sipping his spiced coffee and refusing one of the tiny sweets. 'And then you'll find that no girl will look your way.'

'I will be heartbroken but well fed,' said Roberts with equanimity. 'But have you not noticed that I faithfully follow the Doctor's new programme of exercise? I will most certainly not get fat. You need not feel ashamed to be seen with me yet, old chap.'

'A man of your years must be careful,' said Bracy. 'Have you noticed twinges of gout yet?'

'Blackguard!' said Roberts as Bracy laughed. 'Mere months between us and you say such a thing!'

Bracy simply laughed at him, and then pointed silently out over the city where the sky had turned a rich purple and the moons of Mars were casting their light down upon the buildings. 'Quite a sight,' said Bracy finally.

'Yes,' said Roberts. 'It certainly is.'

They sat there watching until the last remnants of the daylight were quite gone, and then retired indoors, the air having become chillier, and both of them all at once desiring their sleep.

* * *

The next day, Gedge and the other soldiers found, to their surprise that they did not have only Sergeant Gee to chivvy them round in their morning exercises. Captain Roberts and Lieutenant Bracy stood to one side, watching them carefully and whispering to one another. The men looked sidelong at their officers, wondering what they meant by their uncharacteristic behaviour. Finally they seemed to come to agreement, smiling cheerfully at each other and writing in their notebooks.

'Sergeant Gee!' called Roberts.

'Sir!' said the sergeant, jogging over.

The men watched the officers speak at length to Gee, and to their amazement saw his face light up and the responsibility of his position for a moment melt away so that he looked in truth no older than they themselves. The officers looked at each other, and then Lieutenant Bracy spoke in what seemed a gentle manner to Gee, putting a hand very briefly upon his arm. The sergeant nodded curtly and turned again to the men, businesslike and efficient.

'Right!' he yelled, 'Peters, Bradshaw, Wilson, Smith, Hartwell and Baker, get over here! The rest of you, fall out!'

The named soldiers came hesitantly forward, while the others looked at them curiously, and then dispersed. The officers smiled at them with encouraging expressions, and Gedge wished he were among their number. He jogged up to Sergeant Gee, who was wearily heading away from the little group.

'Sergeant! Sergeant!' said Gee. 'Why did you pick those lads?'

'None of your business, Gedge,' said Gee. 'Captain Roberts and Lieutenant Bracy chose them. You remain on regular duty.'

'They have special duty?' asked Gedge, 'What is it, Sergeant? Can I volunteer?'

'No,' said Gee, a touch of bitterness in his voice, 'you're too tall.'

'I'm the same height as Hartwell, Sergeant Gee,' said Gedge. 'Please, Sergeant.'

Gee stopped walking and looked at him in a fashion that made Gedge rue approaching him. After a heartstopping moment his scowl become merely habitual rather than ferocious. 'Wait here,' he said, and walked smartly back to the officers.

Gedge bit his lip and watched the sergeant confer with the young officers. Captain Roberts was shaking his head and looking in his notebook. Gedge willed a miracle to happen, with all his might, and then Lieutenant Bracy looked over at him in a considering manner before speaking quietly into the captain's ear. Captain Roberts looked up, and Gedge drew himself up straighter, then wondered if he should slouch to appear smaller. The captain shrugged and the lieutenant nodded. Gee turned and signalled to Gedge.

'Come on, Gedge,' he called, 'don't dawdle.'

'Hooray!' cried Gedge and sprinted over, not caring a jot or tittle about the heavy heat as he did so.

'You're eager, lad,' said Roberts, laughing a little.

'I have always found him so,' said Bracy, and Gedge felt his heart swell within him.

'Ready to volunteer without hearing the task,' said Roberts. 'You've done well with this lad, Gee.'

'Thank you, sir,' said Gee. 'I'm sure he won't be a disappointment to you, sir,' he continued in tones of deepest threat.

'I won't disappoint you, sir!' cried Gedge fervently to Bracy.

'No one doubts you, my lad,' said Bracy, and to Gee, 'thank you, Sergeant Gee.'

'Sir,' said Gee and took his leave.

'Well,' said Roberts. 'You have been chosen for some special training for which your physical characteristics will especially suit you. Your stature and weight are positive elements in this, and – how tall are you, Gedge?' he asked, squinting at the now slightly slouched lad.

'Five foot, six inches, sir,' said Gedge, adding quickly, 'same as Hartwell.'

A smile quirked Roberts' lips as he wrote in his notebook. 'Don't fear, Gedge, I ask only to make a note, not to disqualify you. Stand up straight, sir. You too, Hartwell.'

Both the young soldiers stood straight, embarrassed smiles upon their faces. Roberts and Bracy grinned at each other, and then Roberts continued.

'As you can feel within yourselves, the gravitational forces here on Mars are not so faint as upon the Moon, but neither are they as strong as upon the Earth. This allows a new method of training and fighting to become possible, one borne upon the air.'

The soldiers burst out with excited chatter, exclaiming with glee.

'Is it balloons, sir?' cried Peters. 'Is it?'

'We shall not go into that just at this moment,' said Roberts. 'I don't want any of you running away before your training even begins.'

The soldiers murmured in indignation until they saw his smile and understood that an officer was unbending enough to joke with them. Shyly they all returned his smile, and, emboldened, Gedge turned to Bracy.

'Won't you tell us, Lieutenant Bracy?' he asked.

Bracy laughed and shook his head. 'See, Captain Roberts,' he said, 'already we have factions forming.'

'You'll all see soon enough,' said Roberts. 'Come along, men. Let us go to see what this will entail.'

They went out of the compound and marched for what Gedge estimated to be three quarters of a mile on a road parallel to the great canal, coming finally to another series of buildings. These were somewhat higher than their barracks and the officers' houses, but were built in the same style. Gedge was excited to note the presence of native Martians, and more excited yet to see they were dressed in uniforms.

'Look, Wilson,' he hissed, 'they're from the native regiments.'

Wilson had no chance to reply, however, for they were herded into one of the large buildings, and told to form into a neat row. Having done so, they looked around themselves. Gedge wrinkled his nose. There was an old, dusty smell in the building and it seemed to him as if the whole place could do with a thorough cleaning. With a soldier's instincts, however, he said nothing of this aloud for fear he should be the one who was told to clean it. Footsteps sounded to one side and he turned his head to see a tall, thin officer come quickly toward them. The new officer and Roberts and Bracy all shook hands, and chatted quietly for a few moments. Then Roberts turned to the little group of soldiers, and called out, ''Tention!'

The lads all instantly came to attention, neat and quiet. Roberts looked at them approvingly and stood before them.

'This is Lieutenant Drummond,' he said. 'Pay careful attention to what he is about to tell you. Stand easy.'

The lads shifted into the stand easy and looked with respectful attention at the new office. He was taller than either Roberts or Bracy, but Gedge decided that he was not so well built, and not so manly in appearance.

'You men have been chosen,' said Drummond in a slight Scottish accent, 'to take part in a new venture. The natives use many of the creatures of this world for transport, and we too will have to adapt to the use of the native beasts. It is too costly to bring horses and other beasts of burden from the Earth to other worlds. Now, among the beasts used by the natives are some that can fly –,' he paused, smiling, as the men drew in their breath and regarded him with shining eyes. 'Although they are taller than us, the native Martians are also lighter,' he continued, pointing at one of the uniformed Martians. 'You can see here how thin even a well-fed soldier is. It has been judged advisable to train some regular Army personnel in the control of these beasts, and accordingly, you, as lighter soldiers of your regiment have been chosen.'

He turned to one of the Martians, saying, 'Bring it out.' The man immediately went through a pair of large doors set into a near wall. Drummond turned once more to the soldiers of the 404th.

'I hope I won't see any weak or girlish behaviour,' he said, and they looked back at him, trying without insolence to convey that he would see no such thing.

The doors opened, and the Martian who had through them fastened them open with hooks. Then he brought forth a creature that none of the lads could have imagined, large and reptilian in appearance, with enormous leathery wings like a bat grown monstrously huge. It seemed awkward in its movements, shuffling forward on its disproportionately tiny feet while using its wing joints for balance, creeping along, as it were on its elbows and feet. It had a long narrow head, its snout appearing bony and weak and its neck spindly. It came closer, urged by the Martian, and regarded the young soldiers out of a small and wicked eye. Then it extended its neck and opened its mouth in a loud hiss, and they could see the rows of needle sharp teeth. As one, the privates all stepped back. Drummond and the Martian soldier both laughed, and the lads flushed with shame, fighting not to flee.

'This is a very tame and docile specimen,' said Drummond. 'It will not harm you.'

'What _is_ it?' asked Baker in awe, and then in horror at having spoken out of turn he stammered, 'Beg pardon, sir.'

'Don't worry, lad,' said Drummond. 'Well, the learned men have all sorts of words for these beasts, but we tend to use the native word around here. This is an _ayit_. We call this one Bessie.'

The soldiers looked at him, and at the _ayit_ , the same thought writ clear on every young face. They had never seen a beast that less deserved the soubriquet of 'Bessie' in all their short lives.

'Well, let's take her outside,' said Drummond, and the Martian soldier urged Bessie slowly out into the sunlight, where the beast blinked slowly and seemed inclined to settle down for a nap. What had not been immediately apparent in their first excitement now impressed itself on every one of the young soldiers' minds. The beast was saddled; a small leather pad rested upon its back, immediately behind the neck. The Martian soldier snapped a word in his own tongue and the beast clicked its jaws in what seemed like annoyance and reluctantly crouched down, spreading its wings on either side of it. At once the Martian threw a leg over it and sat upon the little saddle. He took a loose strap on either side, and buckled them across his narrow hips. With another command, the beast sprang up into the air, a mighty beat of its wings driving it upwards.

Ungainly on the ground, in the air it was graceful and swooped back and forth with ease. The men and the officers all stared up in blank amazement while Drummond grinned at their open and longing faces. He waved at the Martian and the beast, and the _ayit_ was guided in to land before them, grumbling to itself as it became once again a creeper upon the ground.

'Well,' said Drummond. 'Do you think you cam do that? Let's start with you,' he said, pointing to Smith, a young man who seemed to have taken up the habit of eating only since he had enlisted. 'Come now, sir, do not look about you so wildly. I don't ask that you should attempt a flight, merely that you should approach poor old Bessie and perhaps sit upon her saddle.'

The young soldier took a shaky step forward, extending his hand slowly, and murmuring 'Pish-wish,' as if he were summoning a cat to its dinner. The beast looked upon him and suddenly uncoiled itself from its rest and hissed warningly. Poor Smith jumped back, the magnitude of his fright combining with the weak gravitational forces to carry him more quickly than he intended, and causing him to land a little awkwardly.

'I can't,' he cried, bursting into tears, 'I jest can't, sir.'

'It's all right,' said Drummond, forestalling Roberts' angry ejaculation. 'Who else will try?'

None of them answered him, all finding it suddenly of great importance to examine the ground beneath their feet. Gedge thought this was a poor show, when he had asked for special consideration, and dragged his gaze up to meet that of Drummond.

'I will, sir,' he said and walked forward before he could change his mind and flee. The beast seemed amused by his slow progress, watching him first from one eye and then the other. He gulped down air, and then put his hand firmly on the creature's neck.

'Good girl,' he said unsteadily. 'Good Bessie.' After a second when nothing happened, he felt brave enough to attempt to swing a leg over the neck. At that very moment the _ayit_ brought its head up – he could not say whether by accident or design – and hit him soundly on the thigh, knocking him down into the red dust. He was embarrassed to hear both Drummond and the Martian laugh, and shook off the hands that helped him up. To his shame he realised Bracy had come to his help, and flushed more fiercely than ever.

'I'm sorry, sir,' he whispered.

'Do not take it to heart, Gedge,' said Bracy. He smiled and continued, 'you cannot be expected to immediately adjust to such a new and strange thing. Only with time and patience will you find that this becomes second nature.'

They remained in the yard with the creature until every private had touched its leathery skin and been knocked flat by it the moment they attempted to mount. Gedge regarded it with dislike, seeing it had done him mischief by design.

'You will have two hours a day training,' said Drummond finally. 'You are very lucky to be part of this, and I hope you have expressed your gratitude in a proper manner to your officers. Let us conclude for today, I will expect to see you at seven am tomorrow.' He turned from them to Bracy and Roberts, speaking quietly.

Seeing that they were about to be dismissed, Gedge turned quickly to the Martian to snatch a few words.

'Hullo,' he said, 'my name is Gedge. What's yours?'

'John,' said the Martian, taking the straps and saddle from Bessie.

'John?' asked Gedge in puzzlement, 'that ain't a Martian name, surely?'

'It is my Christian name,' said the Martian. He smiled brilliantly at Gedge, saying 'How unhappy you look to hear that I am not a heathen.' He bent down to whisper in the lad's ear, saying, 'I rarely even eat babies any more.' Then he went back to his task, laughing to himself.

Gedge grinned and jogged after his departing fellows. He was going to learn to fly on a strange creature. He had spoken to a Martian and found they made jokes, just like fellows from London. And he had been the first to obey the order to touch the creature, so he was sure that Bracy was not disappointed in allowing him to come along. He felt very happy and very accomplished, and looked forward to his training with an eager and jubilant heart.


	14. Chapter 14

 

**In which New London is explored.**

 

When the opportunity to explore the city finally came, Gedge found himself out of sorts and wishing his leave had fallen on another day. Fred lay under the Doctor's care, the heat having badly affected him, having lain him low until he was pale and drenched in clammy perspiration. Gedge had visited him the previous day to promise him a souvenir of the city, and had been chased from his side by Mrs Gee at her most fearsome. Wilson had that morning run afoul of the redoubtable Mrs Gee's husband, having sadly forgotten which of his feet was the left during drill. He no longer had leave, and had last been seen marching back and forth by himself, executing turns and wheels with perfect ease, until Sgt Gee came to check on him. At such moments poor Wilson found himself clumsy and unsure of direction, and as a result had had many extra half hours added to his sentence. Davids had proclaimed himself exhausted and in need of a rest, and had lain down on his bunk and immediately started snoring. Gedge found himself alone. It seemed unconscionably unfair to him after things had been going so well. He had been assiduously diligent in his training with the _ayit_ , and had carried on all his other duties as well. He felt he had barely had a moment off duty in some weeks, and had been very much looking forward to spending some of his accumulated pay in the company of his friends.

Feeling low within himself, Gedge wandered out of the compound and headed for New London. He had for a little while thought he would go back and train further with his _ayit_ , but had quickly decided it would be foolish to waste his leave, even if Wilson and Davids would not accompany him. 'And I can buy Fred something,' he thought cheerfully.

His quick pace brought him without delay to the city. He was delighted to wander at last among the graceful buildings, staring up dizzily at the height of the towers. Now that he was close to them he could see the shiny flecks in the polished red stone that made them glimmer in the light. He wished the buildings and barracks in the compound would glimmer so, but the stone used in their construction had not been polished in this lovely manner. As he walked around Gedge found himself comparing the buildings of English construction very unfavourably with those of Martian construction. The English buildings were all low and squat, and seemed heavy and smug, while the Martian ones were tall and appeared to float, and they made Gedge feel very happy. He had never felt that way about a building before, nor could he put the feeling into words. He knew he would be laughed at if he tried, but he did not care that his comrades would not understand. He wanted to enter one, but did not know if he could. He had heard that they were used as offices for the colonial government, and thought he would be very out of place if he entered with no reason other than a desire to see the interior of the building.

The day got hotter and hotter as he traversed the streets, finding himself unconsciously avoiding other soldiers. He did not want to hear their opinions on Mars, he found, nor did he wish to listen to complaints about the food or the appearance of the Martian natives. He had come close to falling out with Davids over the latter's repeated statements that the soldiers of the native regiments were planning on feeding Gedge and the others on special duty to the _ayit_. 'He's jealous, is what he is,' thought Gedge. 'He doesn't want to see Wilson and me having fun.' He looked round, and seeing no one looking his way, scratched his head in a common manner. It was very hot. The only people walking out on the streets were British, strolling along as if the heat was nothing to do with them and would not stop them from going about their lawful business. Gedge kept an eye out for Martians, and saw some sitting in the doorways of buildings, idly looking out upon the bright streets, or squatting in the shade of walls, talking quietly with one another. They paid no attention to him as he went by, even when he smiled at them and greeted them in the manner the native soldiers had told him was appropriate.

Remembering his promise to Fred, Gedge sought around for something that would cheer him, and entering at last a dark building that advertised itself as a shop. The shopkeeper was delighted to see him, and would not allow him to immediately ask to see any merchandise. Gedge found that he was required to pass on every piece of out-of-date news from England that he could remember, and most of all to simply assure the shopkeeper that England was indeed still there, and that it rained there and was cold in winter. Finally Gedge left, a small bag of sweets in his pocket – and he was exceedingly glad that Wilson had not been there to see what he had paid for them – and a small leather pouch of Martian make for Fred to keep tobacco in. It was a lovely bright green in colour, and shifted strangely to blue as he moved it in the light. He wished the shopkeeper could have told him what creature the leather was from, but the man merely shrugged and told him that such things were sold to him often by Martians needing money.

After a while, Gedge felt that if he did not immediately eat, he would waste away and die. While he very much enjoyed his training with the _ayit_ , he and the other soldiers had been put on a special dietary regime, one devised by a Mr Banting, to ensure that they did not increase their weight. As a result, most of the food that Gedge particularly enjoyed was now beyond his reach. He did not feel particularly ill done by other than at meals, when he saw his fellows wolfing down bread and potatoes and could not himself avail of more than a fraction of the amount so freely given to them. Today, however, he was on leave, and it came into his mind that his stomach could be on leave also, and that he might find some of the forbidden foods in the city. 'I wouldn't be wrong to do that,' he thought, 'it's not as if I'm a stout fellow, after all.' He looked down at his thin frame and decided that he could in fact do with being a deal stouter. Accordingly, he began to search out establishments where he hoped to find food that would horrify his trainers. A spicy scent drew him down a narrow, shaded street. Here he found many more Martians, conducting their affairs in the cooler shade. They looked at him as he passed by but made no remarks. Soon, Gedge found a number of small establishments where Martians were buying food. He hesitated, remembering how the food served to the soldiers had not agreed with them, and how he had yet wished for a chance to accustom himself to it. 'I'll buy something small,' he thought, 'and then go and find some English grub.'

He boldly walked up to the window where the Martian customers had received food and smiled cheerfully at the Martian woman who looked out at him, greeting her with the salutation which the native soldiers had taught him. She regarded him unsmilingly, and he pointed toward the food her latest customer was now eating, fist sized balls of white matter that seemed to give the fellow some enjoyment.

'Could you give me some of that, please, Miss?' he asked politely.

She spoke to him, but he could not follow a single word, the majority of his learning of the language having concerned orders for his _ayit_ to follow. He pointed again at a dish being brought to the window.

'Some of that? Please?'

She spoke again, seeming annoyed that he did not respond, and poor Gedge shook his head helplessly, and looked at her in confusion. She held up first one finger, then two, then three, still speaking, slowly now as if to a none too bright child and Gedge smiled at her.

'Two, please,' he said holding up two fingers.

She called behind her and some strange items were brought forward and shown him. She pointed to each in turn, and Gedge, hoping that he was doing the right thing, examined them closely. He felt quite at a loss.

'She wishes to know which you will have as a filling for your dish,' an amused voice said behind him.

Gedge turned, a broad smile upon his face. 'Sir!' he said, happy to see the smile answered by Bracy. 'Good afternoon, sir!'

'I believe this is a vegetable, rather like a radish in flavour,' said Bracy, walking forward and looking at the items on display. 'The second is meat, as is the third, and the fourth I do not know, although it has rather the appearance of fish.' He spoke to the woman who replied with some patience. 'It is fish, Gedge,' he said. 'Which do you want her to prepare?'

'The first meat and the radish, please,' said Gedge. 'I wanted to get used to the native food, sir.'

'A good idea,' said Bracy, turning and speaking to the woman once more, 'Doctor Morton is of the opinion that it is more healthful to eat the food of whatever country – or world! – that one finds oneself in. He says the spices used in the native cuisine, while they may be strong and unusual to our tastes, no doubt function to keep the body in good health in such a hot clime.'

'We just weren't expecting it before, sir,' said Gedge. 'That's why the lads didn't like it. I want to like it, though.'

'Do you, Gedge?' smiled Bracy. His attention was called to the window, where the woman put two large leaves upon the sill, each bearing two of the white balls of food. Bracy spoke with her briefly, and placed some coins into her hand. He took one of the leaves and handed it to Gedge, saying, 'I hope this is the one you asked for, lad.' He took the other himself and pointed out a broad stone bench on the opposite side of the street. 'Let us take them over there,' he said.

'Sir --,' said Gedge in embarrassment, awkwardly balancing the food while he put a hand in his pocket.

Bracy waved a hand idly at him. 'Do not concern yourself, Gedge. It is no matter.' He bit into one of the balls of food and chewed thoughtfully. 'This is somewhat bland,' he said.

Gedge hesitantly sat and nibbled at one of his balls, finding that it was indeed bland, but filling. The white material was dense and sticky, with very little flavour, but then he came upon the greenish yellow filling that he supposed to be the Martian radish. Biting into it he gasped in surprise, the pungent hot taste filling his senses and bringing tears to his eyes. He chewed manfully and swallowed.

'Are you quite well?' asked Bracy.

'It's a little hot, sir,' whispered Gedge in a voice that did not seem wholly his own. He nibbled at the white stuff surrounding the radish and found it helped somewhat, the bland flavour a deep relief to his mouth.

Bracy looked thoughtful as he reached the centre of the ball he was eating. 'The fish has a rather strong flavour,' he said, 'and rather subtly spiced. I would have thought more of their spices would be used with such a powerful tasting ingredient. It is good, however.'

Gedge tried the other ball, finding it to contain chopped fried meat with a delightful taste. The meat seemed to have been coated in a very light batter and then in a sweet tasting sauce. He finished it off quickly, and wished he had had known to ask for the same filling in both. Then he turned gingerly to the unfinished food and ate it slowly and carefully.

'Do not eat it if you feel it won't agree with your digestion, Gedge,' warned Bracy.

'I'm sure I jest need to get used to it, sir,' said Gedge. 'Anything new is a bit odd at first.'

Bracy laughed, saying, 'You are becoming quite the lover of Mars, are you not, Gedge? Training with the _ayit_ , eating the native food. You will stop speaking English, no doubt.'

Gedge blushed. 'I jest – didn't think it would be like this, sir,' he said. 'I can't explain it, but I like it here, I jest really like it, the buildings and the people, and even creatures like nasty old Bessie.' He flushed a deeper colour under Bracy's smile and held his tongue.

'I like the buildings too, Gedge,' said Bracy in a kind tone. 'The ancients seem to have had a great skill in working with stone. How pleasant it would be if the buildings we have erected shone so! And do not exclude the great canals from your admiration! Such cunning work, that allows the arid land to bloom. The water is drawn all the way from the ice-covered poles, so I have been informed, although I have also read a report that indicates it may come from beneath the surface of the planet, at least in part. It is quite marvellous.' He fell silent, a look of rapt concentration on his face.

Gedge looked down at his hands, trying not to fidget. Bracy's talk of the canals had aroused within Gedge the sudden desire to follow one along its whole length. 'It must be where the fish was caught,' he thought suddenly, imagining a pleasant evening fishing. With a start he realised that he had been asked a question, and was deeply ashamed that he had been ignoring his officer.

'Sir?' he asked, shamefaced.

'Have you been inside any of the towers?' repeated Bracy.

'No, sir,' said Gedge, 'I didn't have a reason to go in. Are they as lovely on the inside?' A wistful expression crossed his face at the thought.

'I don't know,' said Bracy. 'Come, let's find out.' He stood up and Gedge shot to his feet eagerly.

'You're goin' into one of them?' he asked joyfully, 'and you'll bring me?'

'Let us see if we can make a successful foray,' said Bracy, laughing and leading him back into the sunlit and empty avenues. They marched through the heat, their footsteps ringing on the dressed stone of the roadway, and up to the tallest of the towers, that Gedge had felt the most beautiful since the moment he had first laid eyes upon its slender height. Without pausing, Bracy ran up to the steps to its door, and pushed it open, Gedge close on his heels.

Inside, it was cool. The light seemed dim at first, but as Gedge's eyes grew used to it he realised that this was merely in contrast to the blinding light outside. They stood in a huge entrance hall, fully the entire area of the tower's base. In the centre of the hall a massive and beautiful staircase spiralled its way upwards. The floor beneath their feet was polished as highly as the exterior of the tower, and gleamed softly in the light. On the walls Gedge saw a frieze of what he presumed to be writing, angular and bold in its execution. He drew in his breath. Beneath the frieze were carvings, raised figures of Martians at more than three times life size. They looked out upon him solemnly from their great eyes, or gazed upon each other. The men were dressed in the kilts that their descendants wore, their upper bodies bare and muscled. The women were clad in long fringed gowns. As he looked Gedge saw scenes of the long dead Martians' lives, before Europeans had ever set foot upon their bright, red world. A wild emotion that he could not name rose within him as he laid a hand upon one of the carvings, as if he wished to weep and laugh at the same time.

'See,' said Bracy quietly. 'Is that not the same figure, repeated again and again?' He indicated a martial figure, shown in one place with two long, curved swords in hand, and in another bestride a terrible clawed beast, and then sitting upon a throne while other Martians brought armfuls of goods before it. He looked more closely and his eyes widened in surprise. 'Good Lord, Gedge, I believe it is a woman. An Amazon queen, perhaps!'

At this moment a voice called to them in tones of bored irritation, 'Can I help you?'

Bracy turned and advanced upon the functionary that Gedge now saw sat behind a large desk to one side of the hall. Gedge was glad he had not come in by himself, for the careful dress and the attitude of the man made him feel that he, a mere private soldier, had no business in such a fine place. Bracy, however, belonged here and no official would keep him out. Gedge watched him tell the man his name and that he was interested in the native architecture. The official, his manner becoming at once more accommodating as he heard Bracy's manner of speech, put no obstacle in their way, seeing no reason that they should not ascend the stairs to see the upper levels.

'Only the first three levels are in use at this time, Lieutenant Bracy,' he said politely. 'The others will be used as they become needed.'

'Thank you,' said Bracy. 'Come along, Gedge!'

He sprang up the stairs, Gedge running beside him, his heart pounding. They slowed after they had passed the first two levels, walking more easily up to the third floor.

'Let's go another floor before we begin to look around,' said Bracy. 'It will lessen our chances of having to explain our presence every few minutes.' He led the way upward again.

At last they began to explore the tower, wandering from room to room in delight. Gedge was smiling so widely he felt his mouth must split as he followed close on Bracy's heels. The rooms were silent, bright and sunlit, other buildings not blocking their light. Huge arched windows allowed a light breeze to lift the heat and stir the dust upon the floors.

'You saw that they have put glass in the windows on the lower levels?' asked Bracy. 'How much more pleasant they are in their original state! It must be awfully hot to work in an office downstairs!'

Gedge laughed cheerfully, running his fingertips over the wall. It was not as polished as in the entrance hall, but was still most wonderfully smooth. They climbed up another flight of stairs, seeing with interest that the rooms became smaller on each level. Here they disturbed what Gedge at first thought were birds, and then saw were like tiny versions of the _ayit_. With high-pitched squeaks the little creatures flew out of the tall arched window, making Gedge and Bracy both laugh. Gedge wished that he could live in such a set of rooms, with their tall ceilings and quiet views out over the city. Having explored the floor completely, and imagined in which room he would put a table and chairs and in which he would sleep, Gedge eagerly went out to the stairs again.

'There are so many steps,' said Bracy, and Gedge was suddenly filled with a fear that the young officer would say they should descend once more.

'Oh please, sir!' he cried. 'Can't we go all the way?'

Bracy laughed at his expression and seized him by the shoulders. 'That's what I like to hear from a man,' he said. 'Of course we shall, Gedge. I don't want us to stop now!' And with a gay laugh he dashed up the stairs, Gedge at his side, light-hearted once more.

At last they attained the very highest floor, finding it to be a single room, perfectly round, and with windows set all about it. Here the floor and walls were as polished as they were in the entrance hall, and the whole room shone. Gedge looked up at the ceiling and stood amazed, seeing upon it representations of stars and the two swift moons of Mars. 'Oh,' he thought, 'it's like a window looking up at the sky as well as out on the city,' and the strange mix of emotion came over him again. He turned to see Bracy standing in one of the windows, looking out silently, and came over to him. Gedge climbed onto the wide sill as well, and gazed out at New London. From this height it was silent and still, and he could see how the broadest streets paralleled or ran perpendicular to the great canal. The area of the city in which the Martians now lived seemed dark and small compared to the great works of architecture of their past. His eyes followed the canal along, until its bright gleam was lost to view far off in the heat haze. Leaning out, and looking along the canal in the other direction, Gedge could see the Army fort with its compound of low, squat buildings. They sat uneasily on the Martian soil, not making any effort to fit in, and Gedge thought all at once that this was a great pity for a great love for his new home had overwhelmed him. As he leaned out a little further he felt Bracy's hands take hold of him.

'Careful, lad,' said Bracy. 'I don't want ill luck to befall you.' And he drew Gedge back toward him firmly.

Gedge turned to him, his face shining with joy. 'Thank you,' he said, 'thank you for bringing me up here, sir.' He felt wholly unequal to telling Bracy of how he felt, and hoped his simple thanks might somehow be enough. Bracy made no reply but a soft laugh, and looked once more out upon the city, his arm about Gedge's shoulders. They stood there, silent, side by side, until the light began to fade and they made their quiet and happy way back down to return to the regiment.


	15. Chapter 15

**In which Gedge has some problems.**

 

'I see you ain't been fed to your big old bats yet,' said Davids as Gedge and Wilson staggered in, exhausted after a hard training session, the second of the day. He grinned in an evil fashion, as there was nothing that got them arguing quicker than a slur on their trainers and their ungainly seeming mounts.

'Give over, Davids,' moaned Gedge, collapsing down onto his bunk.

'They're not bats,' said Wilson in the same tone of indignation in which he always refuted this unfair charge on the _ayit_. 'Yer jest showin' yer ignorance, Sid Davids.'

'They look like bats,' Davids grinned. 'C'mon, Bill, get yerself up and let's go get some food. Here, is he asleep? Fred, you get one side of him and I'll get the other –'

'Ah!' Gedge ejaculated as his bunk was tipped over and he was spilled onto the floor. 'That's not fair! Leave me to sleep!'

'Up you get,' said Fred. 'Come on and watch us eat yer spuds.'

Gedge and Wilson exchanged an exasperated glance and trudged down to the mess hall with their friends. Their exhaustion lifted slightly as they began to eat, although it was annoying to have slices of bread snatched from under their noses by their grinning pals.

'I s'y, pard'ner,' muttered Gedge to Wilson, 'what I wouldn't give for a big fresh loaf of bread, all to myself!'

'Me too,' sighed Wilson. 'And some spuds too.'

'Ain't you forbidden from even sayin' 'spuds'?' asked Fred impishly. 'Doin' the pair of you a world of good, this training. I thought you were gettin' awful fat but didn't like to say anything.'

'It's what yer might call a safety measure,' said Davids. 'If they're kept skinny they don't look so appetising to the bats.' He paused and went on deliberately, 'Or to those native johnnies.'

'They're not cannibals!' said Gedge hotly. 'They're decent lads, is what they are, and more Christian than you.'

'Yes, shut your mouth, Davids,' said Hartwell from the next table. 'What would you know? No one would choose you for any kind of special duty.'

'Here now,' said Gedge, feeling that if anyone should disagree with a friend of his it should be him, 'there's no need for that.'

'Yes,' cried Wilson, 'you keep out of this, Hartwell!'

'Oh!' cried Hartwell, stung that his defence of the _ayit_ and their riders should be rejected so, 'I'm surprised you're shameless enough to speak, Wilson. If the orficers knew you had to have 'left' and 'right' written on your hands –'

Wilson's outraged reply was cut across by Gedge, who cried out 'Don't you speak to Wilson like that, he's a fine flyer!'

'I can fight my own battles, Bill,' said Wilson in annoyance, shoving at Gedge's arm.

'Oh, but with Bill Gedge on your side you don't have to,' said Hartwell with a nasty laugh. 'He can bring in the big boys, can Bill.'

'What do you mean?' said Gedge, feeling his temper begin to rise.

'I mean you wouldn't even be gettin' the flying training if you weren't so chummy with that Mr Bracy,' said Hartwell.

'How come he likes you so much, Gedge?' said Smith, peeping out from behind Hartwell.

'Orficer's pet,' said Hartwell with deep malice.

Gedge jumped across the table and punched him in the nose, yelling, 'You take that back!'

The other soldiers yelled for them to stop as Hartwell returned the punch, and some ran to the doors to keep an eye out for NCOs or officers whom the noise might attract. Others looked on in interest as Gedge's and Hartwell's friends tried to separate them.

'Bill! Bill! Are yer crazy?' cried Fred as he manhandled Gedge backwards. 'Leave it, Bill. C'mon, sit down.'

Gedge glared at Hartwell who looked back at him with no great liking, then turned his back and sat down at the table again. His friends crowded around him, ready to stop him from jumping up again.

'Don't mind him, Bill,' said Fred. 'He's always been an idiot.'

'He oughtn't have spoke to Wilson like that,' muttered Gedge.

'That wasn't what made you hit him,' said Wilson.

'Give over,' said Gedge in misery.

'Yes,' said Davids, 'Hartwell likes getting under a fellow's skin, you know that, Wilson. Remember when he called me a jumped up barrow-boy?'

'Well, but you are,' laughed Wilson.

'I'll have my friends say it, but not him,' said Davids. 'You just ignore him, the pair of you. All right, Bill?'

'All right,' said Gedge listlessly.

'Here,' said Fred in a worried tone. 'You have a slice of bread, Bill. One won't do you no harm. Go on, you were saying you wanted a bit, earlier.'

'Thanks,' said Gedge, chewing it. It tasted dry and nasty in his mouth. He sighed. 'I'm goin' out for a spot of air. I'm tired, it might wake me up. See you later, pard'ners.' He walked off quickly, ignoring Hartwell's snigger and sat outside on the steps in the night air, ignoring the growing chill. 'I ain't an orficer's pet,' he thought unhappily. 'Lieutenant Bracy wouldn't have said I could do the training if he thought I wasn't fit for it. And Captain Roberts too! I don't have no special pull with him.'

After he had sat there for a while he heard a step behind him and turned to see Fred, with two steaming mugs of tea in his hands.

'There you are, Bill,' said Fred, handing over one of the mugs and sitting down. 'Out here feelin' sorry for yourself?'

Gedge smiled against his will. 'Jest ponderin' the unfairness of life, pard'ner,' he said.

'Well, you ponder that cup of tea, it'll do you more good.' Fred drank deeply of his own tea and sighed in pleasure. They sat in silence for a while then Fred shifted uneasily. 'I'm yer friend, Bill, you know that,' he said.

Gedge sighed. 'Yes, Fred, I know. What's on yer mind?'

'Same as is on yours, I dessay,' said Fred. 'I know you're the same, Bill, you ain't trying to make yerself better'n anyone, but –'

'But I'm an orficer's pet?' asked Gedge. 'I ain't.'

'Course not,' said Fred loyally. 'But you like him, don't you?'

'He's a good orficer,' said Gedge.

'Yes,' said Fred. 'He is, no one says otherwise. But he ain't yer friend, Bill. He's yer sooperior orficer, you should spend more time with us than with him.'

'He's teachin' me Martian,' said Gedge, 'that's a useful skill.'

'Why?' asked Fred. 'We don't need it. All's we need is enough to ask 'How much?' at a street stall. Or you and Wilson need to know the words for your bats – all right, all right, you _ayit_. He's teachin' you as a pastime for him, not for your benefit.' He paused and then ran his hand over Gedge's head roughly, making his short hair untidy. 'Come on, Bill,' he said in a more cheerful tone, 'come and play cards and see if I've got any better at yer Yank game.'

Gedge gave him the best smile he could. 'All right, Fred,' he said, 'but I'm warnin' you, I don't care how long I've known you, I'm still takin' yer money.'

'I've got myself a new strategy,' said Fred leading him back inside. 'I'm goin' to start cheatin'.'

They both laughed as they went back into the heat and light.

* * *

'I'm not so good at this new bit,' muttered Wilson unhappily in Gedge's ear as they sat on a wall by the _ayit_ stables, taking a short break. He had been reprimanded by one of the native sergeants for wheeling to the left instead of to the right. His _ayit_ had narrowly missed colliding with the sergeant's, and had then hissed in irritation and attempted to bite the next three _ayit_ it had come within reach of. Wilson was angry at himself, and at his _ayit_ and at the sergeant, and especially at Hartwell, who had laughed scornfully at him.

'What am I going to do, Bill?' asked Wilson, 'I can't do something like that again, I'm a danger to others.'

'You're usually all right,' said Gedge cheerfully. 'You've jest got to keep your head.'

'That's jest it,' said Wilson, 'if I have time to think I know which way to go, but you don't get that time in a battle, do you? When I get excited I get all mixed up in my head and I don't know which way I'm going.'

'More drill with the _ayit_ , that's all you need,' said Gedge. 'You've got to do it till it's second nature, like drill on the ground.'

'Huh!' ejaculated Wilson, 'you know how bad that can be.'

'That's jest because old Gee was shoutin' at you,' said Gedge consolingly. 'If he hadn't been shoutin' you'd have been fine.'

'There'll be a lot of shouting in a battle,' said Wilson. He sighed, continuing, 'And it'll only be worse with this night time flying Lieutenant Drummond wants us to start. How're we s'posed to see anything at night? I'll crash for sure.'

'You won't,' said Gedge, 'I'll drill with you till you're sure of yourself. We can do it on some evening, and get you familiar with flying in the night. And then you can be the one to laugh at Hartwell. Now come on, we're the last ones still on a break. Let's get back up there.'

Wilson smiled, and cheerfully followed his suggestion.

 

* * *

'Don't you think it's dashed awkward to be having babies out here, Bracy?' asked Roberts, leaning against the porch railing and idly watching the moons run swiftly overhead. He pulled at his pipe and let a cloud of smoke waft upward.

'Terribly awkward,' agreed Bracy laughing at his friend, 'no doubt you feel that it would be so much easier if babies could be frozen and thawed out only as one felt able to support them.'

'I just mean it really isn't quite the place for a lady, is it?' asked Roberts. 'I don't see how anyone would be happy to bring their wife all this way.'

'Love, no doubt, Rob,' said Bracy. 'You could hardly have denied Gee the presence of his wife when they were so newly married.'

'Oh, Gee,' said Roberts. 'I was not talking of the fearsome Mrs Gee. I can see no place that she might consider beyond her. I was speaking of more gently brought up ladies – don't you think Mars must be a terrible hardship to them?'

'They have pleasant residences – although it is true that society is somewhat limited, and there is no easy access to new fashions. Any lady on Mars must resign herself to being at least three months out of fashion. I am sure that some ladies of good breeding would find it most agreeable her, however.'

'How so?' scoffed Roberts. 'The latest novels are no longer the latest out here, they would be wearing last Season's dresses, and there is little opportunity for refinement. No lady could enjoy it here.'

'Ah, but you are wrong, Rob!' said Bracy, 'my own cousin Georgina would consider this a challenge, I have no doubt.'

'Georgina?' said Roberts doubtfully. 'The difficulties faced by a married lady would be greatly magnified for a spinster, surely? Not that I mean to say,' he continued hurriedly, 'that I consider Georgina to be in any way an old maid.'

'Oh, Georgie would love it,' said Bracy. 'You knew, surely, that she and her old school chum Rose have taken a house together in town? Such inseparable girls!'

'I remember Georgie as always being very gay,' said Roberts, 'always a quick word and a laugh.'

'Why, she is as gay as ever,' said Bracy. 'I do wish she'd grow her hair a little longer and stop smoking cheroots, though. It seems so queer to see a woman do that – we all joke that she will quite drive the rose from her cheeks. She always says she's had no complaints from Rose yet. Dear girls,' he smiled fondly. 'And Georgie's as good a shot as any man. You should have seen the number of birds she bagged last autumn – why I thought Rose would never stop kissing her, she was so proud of her dear friend's prowess.'

'Well, for a girl like Georgie, I would be prepared to say Mars would present no hardship,' laughed Roberts, 'lest she come after me with her shotgun. But these ladies of the colonial officials – they should have been left at home.'

'Rob, you are not so chivalrous as you pretend,' said Bracy in mock sadness. 'You simply think they should employ civilian doctors and not call the Army doctors to their confinements.'

'I cannot deny it would please me better if we hadn't been left bereft of medical men, just because some lady in the town insisted on following her husband out here,' said Roberts. 'Those officials treat the Army as their own store house of aid and succour. If the Doctor is not back by morning, I shall see what the Major and the Colonel think on the matter.'

'Well, it does not concern _us_ ,' said Bracy. 'Look how bright the moons are! Will you walk with me by the canal for a while, Rob? It is very pleasant and still at night.'

'I have still some reports to write, old man,' said Roberts regretfully. 'You go, and I shall think of you strolling by the water while I am deep in dry papers.'

'Are you sure?' asked Bracy. 'Very well. Do not stay awake all night with your papers, Rob. I shall expect to have some rest in the night, and I know already that you will be disturbing me . If you want me to check your calculations, ask me in the morning!'

He ignored Roberts' rueful laugh, and sprang from the porch, with a carefree wave. He passed from the fort and strode along the canal bank, admiring the still blackness of the water. As he walked along he saw the water disturbed suddenly, as if something had risen briefly to the surface. 'Ah!' he thought, 'the fish, showing themselves!' He watched closely thereafter, seeing the ripples from time to time. After some time, he found his thoughts turning to his attempts to teach what he knew of the Martian tongue to Gedge. The young soldier, while eager at first, had become listless for one or two days, almost surly in his answers. Then his interest in the subject had reasserted itself, and he had been as eager as ever, repeating his lessons back in as good an accent as Bracy's own. Bracy had put the lad's behaviour down to perhaps a touch of illness, and was glad to see him himself once more. 'Praise and encouragement,' he thought, 'those are the keys.' He smiled a little to himself, remembering how he had been as a child, fearing his Latin master because of the punishments the man would mete out for less than immediate perfect comprehension. Latin had been a terror and a chore, and Bracy was certain he was doing far better with Gedge. The lad glowed when he was praised, and worked hard to better himself for no more reward than a kind word and a pat on the shoulder. Bracy wished that such a pedagogy had been employed in his own school while he was a child.

He heard a sound and looked about him, perplexed. He was not sure where it had come from.

 

* * *

 

Gedge and Wilson laughed like boys as they wheeled and swerved in the air. They had found it remarkably easy to slip into the _ayit_ stables, and bring their customary mounts out into the moonlight. The creatures had clicked and complained about being expected to fly at night, but had obeyed with at least some little grace. Now they were airborne and flying perfectly. Wilson followed their earlier drill with precision and ease, no sign of hesitation apparent. Gedge was happy for his friend, knowing how hard he took it that something so obvious to others could be a mystery to him.

'Right wheel!' called Gedge, and was gratified to see Wilson's _ayit_ turn in the correct direction. It came about and Gedge swerved upward to avoid it, perfect and easy, just as the native soldiers had demonstrated. 'Right wheel again!' he cried, determined to see if Wilson had merely been lucky. Once more Wilson did exactly as he should. Laughing, Gedge brought his _ayit_ around, and realised he could not see Wilson's. As he opened his mouth to call, Wilson's _ayit_ rose up from beneath him, and his own stood upright upon the air, beating its wings furiously in shock and anger.

'Wilson!' cried Gedge, meaning to continue with a demand to take care. Then there was a horrible sideways slipping motion, and his saddle moved sickeningly. For an instant he dangled helplessly from the confining straps, and then one broke and he clutched at it wildly then fell, too surprised even to cry out.

* * *

Bracy, looking upwards, saw two _ayit_ lazily wheeling in the night sky. 'Are they wild?' he thought, and then heard voices crying commands. He moved forward, keeping an eye on the creatures. He had not thought Drummond had meant them to start this part of their instruction so soon. As he was looking for the others of the special unit, he saw one of the creatures make a low pass and skim upwards beneath the belly of the other. Then to his horror he saw a figure detach itself and fall.

He began to run.

 

* * *

 

Gedge lay upon the ground, dazed and feeling nothing. His head swam and the stars seemed to be moving. All at once Wilson flung himself down on his knees beside him, sobbing.

'Bill! Bill! I didn't mean it, Bill! Are yer all right?'

'I'm all right, John,' said Gedge in a far away voice. He heard footsteps running toward him and then Wilson was snatched out of his field of vision. Bracy looked down upon him.

'Gedge,' said Bracy in blank surprise. 'Don't move.'

'No, sir,' said Gedge.

'Ah!' ejaculated Wilson, 'I've killed him! I've killed me own friend!'

'Wilson!' shouted Bracy, 'Get a hold of yourself, sir! Stop this wailing at once!'

Wilson's cries died down to sniffling sobs. Gedge saw Bracy look at the unfortunate private in anger.

'Get back on your _ayit_ , Wilson,' said Bracy, 'and fly for help. Where is Lieutenant Drummond?'

Wilson made a noise as if he was strangling a wail at birth.

'Never mind,' said Bracy firmly. 'Go to the fort and have them send a stretcher party. Tell the Doctor – no,' he said, hesitating, 'the Doctor is not there tonight. Send a stretcher party at once, Wilson.'

'Yes, sir,' said Wilson, galvanised by having orders to follow. He leapt onto his _ayit_ , and was in the sky as quickly as possible. With a mournful squawk, Gedge's followed sadly.

'No matter,' said Bracy, 'we could not use it anyway.' He felt all over Gedge's limbs, while Gedge suddenly found the world was not so far away, and he was in pain. 'I think your ankle is broken, Gedge,' said Bracy, 'and you may have sustained a head injury. Do you know who I am?'

'Yes, sir,' said Gedge, and burst into tears, crying, 'I'm sorry, Lieutenant Bracy! I'm such a disappointment to you!'

'Hush, lad,' said Bracy. 'Be quiet, do not disturb yourself further. Ah, your shoulder – you tried to catch at the straps to stop your fall, didn't you?'

'Yes,' whispered Gedge, remembering a sickening pain before the drop.

'It has been dislocated,' said Bracy. 'Listen to me, Gedge, the longer we leave that the worse it will be. The Doctor will not be back till morning, and I want to try to splint your ankle and put your shoulder in its proper place now. It will make carrying you on the stretcher a simpler matter.'

'Yes, sir,' said Gedge.

Bracy paused. 'I will have to hurt you, Gedge,' he said, 'I know you will take it like a man, and I will be as gentle as I might.'

'Yes, sir,' said Gedge again, 'it's all right, sir. I'd rather you do it than jest anyone. I can take it, you jest shove it in, sir.'

Bracy felt about the injured shoulder and readied himself. 'On three,' he murmured. 'One –', and he forced the shoulder back within its socket with as smooth a motion as he might. Gedge went pale and silent, and bit his lip to stop from crying out. He could barely feel anything except the overwhelming need to vomit from pain, and opened his eyes at last to see Bracy lay a hand upon his brow. 'Good, brave lad,' said Bracy. 'Well done. Now, you must be brave a little longer, and I will attempt to splint your ankle.' So saying he hunted around and came back with the riding crop that Gedge had used with the _ayit_. 'It is not ideal, but it will do for a short time,' said Bracy, and he took his handkerchief from his pocket, and Gedge's from his, and tied up the ankle securely.

Gedge fixed his eyes upon the stars and did not make a sound. At last Bracy was finished, and Gedge could draw breath once more. He felt very tired and knew he would have to explain himself at some time. All he felt was a shame and a regret that Bracy should be disappointed in one whom he had given special consideration, and silent tears began to gather in his eyes.

'There now, lad,' said Bracy very gently, 'Wilson will have help with us presently. Don't give in to weakness, there's a lad.' He took Gedge's unhurt hand softly in his own, and squeezed the fingers lightly. Overcome, Gedge held on with all his might, and so they sat, hand in hand, until they heard the halloos of the party coming to their aid at last.


	16. Chapter 16

**In which Gedge recovers from his wounds, but encounters still more setbacks.**

 

 

Gedge shifted uncomfortably in the hospital bed. He was longing to be up and back on duty, but instead the Doctor had kept him in the wards so that he could more easily inflict yet another regime of exercise upon the young private. These exercises, the Doctor swore, would restore most wonderfully the full power to Gedge's ankle.

'If you were left to yourself,' the Doctor told him whenever it looked like he would complain, 'you would not properly perform any exercise, and you would favour that leg. You would be limping, Gedge! An arthritic old man before your time!' And he would make Gedge go through the painful exercises again and again until they had been performed to the Doctor' satisfaction.

'Oh,' thought Gedge, 'at least I can get up and about for a bit each day, and I don't need to put Mrs Gee to any trouble.' For the first two weeks he had lain in bed, forbidden to move because of the swelling his head had sustained from the fall, and had been horrified to find himself in the care of the sergeant's wife in all matters, being treated by her as if he were an enormous baby that needed cleaning and changing. He had obeyed the Doctor with a whole heart the moment he understood he would no longer be classed as bedridden and would be able to attend to his own needs.

It was the middle of the day, and he knew all his friends were on duty. None could come to visit him until the evening, and even then the Doctor would only allow healthy soldiers into his territory for the briefest of visits. Gedge was lonely and bored, and had found himself relying to a great extent on the one visitor the Doctor admitted at any time, for any length of stay. When he had at last found he was no longer dazed, Lieutenant Bracy had begun to visit him. The first time was to discover what had transpired the night that Gedge had fallen. Gedge had tried to look the officer in the eye while he told the story, but had found himself so deeply ashamed that his voice kept trailing off and his gaze slipping down to the bedclothes. He had taken all the blame upon himself, admitting that he had suggested to Wilson that they train at night, by themselves, that he had been the one to open up the stable and the first to take his _ayit_ out. He was glad, in a strange way, to see Bracy's disappointment and anger.

'I should have expected better of you, Gedge,' Bracy had said, his face set.

Gedge had nervously picked at the blankets, knowing that he full well deserved the officer's low opinion. He had acted in an irresponsible and foolhardy way, and it almost felt good to have to face an officer's wrath. He wished it could have been any officer except Bracy, however, and a deep sadness rose within him that he had failed his officer so badly. He wished he could straightway get back on the ship for England, so that he would never have to see Bracy again, and then felt unhappy at such a disloyal notion.

'Lieutenant Drummond is also highly displeased with you, Gedge,' Bracy had said. 'He is most unwilling to have under him any man who acts so wildly.'

Gedge felt his heart sink even further, and it took all his courage to look into Bracy's face. After a long and miserable moment, he saw compassion soften the angry features, and Bracy spoke more gently to him, saying, 'Gedge, you were very foolish. I know you were attempting to help a fellow soldier and a friend. I know that you, in your assumption of all the blame, are still trying to help your friend. Wilson has also claimed he was wholly in the wrong, and that you are more innocent than he. It is a good thing to protect someone you love, Gedge, but you must be more sensible in your actions. I have spoken to Lieutenant Drummond on your behalf – you will not be able to take part in the training until you are fully healed, but he is prepared at that time to give you another chance, if you have not in the meantime found yourself in any trouble. You will have your pay docked as a disciplinary measure, as will Wilson, for the next month. Try not to cause any uprisings against the Doctor, there's a good lad.'

Gedge had found himself, to his great joy, forgiven. Since then Bracy had come to see him at least once on every alternate day, bringing with him his books of grammar and phrases in the Martian tongue. Having no other pastime with which to occupy himself, Gedge worked hard at his studies, finding all he needed as incentive in the warm smile Bracy would bestow upon him when he excelled. 'He's not doing it because he's bored,' thought Gedge, 'he's doing it because he thinks I need something, some stimyoolation, like he said.' As he thought this, Bracy entered with a cheerful smile.

 

'Gedge,' he said, 'you seem brighter every time I see you. Soon you'll be fully recovered, the Doctor says.'

'Yes, sir,' said Gedge happily, 'I've got all the bandages off my foot now, see.' He extended the extremity in question, saying, 'The swelling's gone down a lot, sir, I think. Won't you feel it, and see if you think it's got smaller?'

Bracy put his hand on the truthfully still-swollen limb. 'The skin is very hot,' he said. 'What does the Doctor say about that?'

'He says it's Dame Nature doin' her work, sir,' said Gedge, 'he says it's a sign of healing.'

'Good,' said Bracy, propping a pillow under Gedge's heel. 'Keep it up as much as you can. It will feel much better like that.' He produced the books. 'Let us return to the future tense of the strong verb, Gedge – come now, do not look so worried. You had it perfectly the last day. Now, what is 'he will keep watch'?'

Gedge answered quickly, and saw the smile he had been waiting for. A warm feeling within him, he happily answered Bracy's other questions and was disappointed when at last the officer rose to go. 'Will you come in tomorrow, sir?' he asked, greatly daring, 'only I seem to forget the way the grammar goes if I don't go hard at it reg'lar.'

'I'll be in as son as I can in the morning,' said Bracy. 'If a drill in language is what you desire, I think I can offer to tire you out.' So saying he departed, smiling to himself.

 

* * *

At last the day dawned when Gedge was freed from the captivity of his hospital bed. He was not yet ready to be put back on full duty, but every task he performed was like balsam to the soul. Never had he been so glad to participate in the most hated of duties, treating them like wonderful holidays wherein he saw many other people. The time that would previously have been filled with training with the _ayit_ was taken up with Bracy, who had begun, rather slowly, to teach Gedge to read the angular Martian script. This was no easy task for him, as he had himself begun this endeavour only a short span of weeks before Gedge. The lad found it a wonderful diversion, sitting close by the young officer so that they might share the same book, both their heads bent over the same page, as one or the other of them read slowly and hesitatingly and the other praised the effort. Gedge felt like a whole new world was slowly opening itself to him as he peered into the book lying in Bracy's lap.

'It's ever so wonderful,' he thought, imagining the surprise that would be writ clear upon the face of the harassed clergymen who had attempted to instil some learning in the boys and girls of the parish in which Gedge had spent his childhood. 'How queer they'd think it, if they could see me reading Martian!' thought Gedge, proudly. He bent to his studies with renewed vigour, until Bracy said at last that they had studied enough for the day.

Gedge lay in his bunk at night, thinking of the queer things the book said. It was just simple sentences, said Bracy, devised by learned English men, and yet the sentences were full of warriors and _ayit_ , and bright, brave action. Gedge found the work even in his dreams, seeing himself wandering the streets of New London with Bracy, and fighting against the fierce warriors that populated his reading exercises. In his dreams he was as noble and brave as they and won their admiration for his valour.

His friends shook their heads over his newly studious habits, but as he took care to be finished by the time they came off duty, and spent his leisure time with them, Gedge felt they should not complain of neglect. Wilson was especially happy to see him out of his confinement, and told him often how hard he would have to work to regain the expertise he had had with the _ayit_ and to catch up to the other flyers.

'I want to, pard'ner,' said Gedge. 'But the Doctor won't allow it. I wish he would! And Lieutenant Drummond – I'm not lookin' forward to having to talk to him.'

'No,' said Wilson, who had come to Gedge's bedside in hospital to weep over how he had been shouted at by a variety of officers, 'but he did say he'd take you back again, didn't he?'

'That's what I was told,' said Gedge, thinking he should not use Bracy's name too often before his friends lest they think he was in truth a pet of the officer's. 'All's I need is to get the say so from the Doctor, I s'pose. I'll jest have to do my language training till then.'

'Don't be in too much of a hurry,' said Fred lazily, 'you'll be taken off proper food again. In fact you might be too fat now.' He looked at Gedge's thin, outraged face and laughed cheerfully. 'C'mon, Bill,' he continued, 'tell us how you say 'Beg pardon, but I ain't allowed to eat proper food' in Martian.'

Gedge laughed with him, and resolved to say nothing more about his lessons until a week at least had passed.

 

* * *

'Thank you,' said Bracy in the Martian tongue as the servant poured his coffee and Roberts' tea. 'That will be all.'

The servant inclined his head and walked from the room, Roberts following him with his eyes.

'You sound just like one of them, old man,' said Roberts, 'I am most impressed. Why, now I shall never have to say anything to one of them if you are about!'

'Thank you, Rob,' said Bracy, sipping his coffee, 'although I hardly think my accent so good. Still, it is most marvellous how regular and frequent study improves one's abilities. You are welcome to come and study with me any afternoon, as you well know.'

'We have so much to do,' said Roberts, 'it is hard to fit it in.' He paused and drank some tea, raising an eyebrow at the taste. 'I do believe that they have started spicing the tea now,' he said. 'Can they leave nothing plain?'

'Have you eaten their filled balls of grain?' asked Bracy. 'The ball itself is mild and unspiced – rather like semolina, I find.'

'All I want is a cup of good, strong tea,' said Roberts. 'Your afternoons of study, Bracy – they are progressing satisfactorily?'

'Quite. I am gratified to find myself not merely a satisfactory student of the language, but also a more than adequate teacher. You would be astonished how much progress Gedge has made his study, all the more of an accomplishment for the lad when one considers his lack of more than the most basic schooling.'

'Why do you burden yourself with such a task?' laughed Roberts. 'I half expect you to come in one day and begin to drop your aitches in speaking! How comical the boy must sound when he attempts to speak another tongue!'

'He is a model student, Rob,' said Bracy. 'His accent in Martian is good, as far as I can tell, and he works as hard as he can, even when it is hard for him. I tell you, you would not find it within yourself to mock the poor lad if you saw how earnestly he looks upon me when I explain a point of grammar to him.'

'Oh, come,' said Roberts, 'I don't mean to malign your protegé, I am sure he's doing his best. But Bracy, old chap, don't you think it sets rather a poor example to the men?'

'What? That a private soldier might seek to better himself?' said Bracy. 'Nonsense! If they all were as studious –'

'That is not what I mean,' said Roberts. 'That you should act so kindly toward a soldier who has been involved in such a lack of order, Bracy, that is what I mean. And that you spoke with Drummond to ask that he not be removed from the training. We cannot play favourites with the boys that particularly catch our eye, you know that.'

'I'm not playing favourites, Rob,' said Bracy, taken aback. 'And the lad is not familiar, nor does he presume on my favour – he is not like that, Rob. If you saw him with his cheerful manner and his eagerness to get well and do his duty you would not doubt his love for his country, his fellows or his officers.'

'It's his sense I doubt,' said Roberts. 'Well, I know I do not have to say more, old man. You will do what's right. Now, let me beg an indulgence – call the fellow back and ask him to make me a cup of tea with no spice!'

 

* * *

 

Gedge, some days later, was judged well enough to take up almost all of his duties once more, a judgement that cheered him immensely. 'I must tell Lieutenant Bracy,' he thought, 'and ask him to speak to Lieutenant Drummond for me. Oh, how good it'll be to get back up on an _ayit_ again!' The thought of this sustained him through the whole day, and it was not until evening that he realised he would not be seeing Bracy that day. He was cheerful all through his dinner, and sang gaily along with some fellows who liked the same music hall songs as he. It was not until late afternoon on the following day that his good humour began to slip and he could not stop wondering why he had had no chance to practice his reading in Martian. 'What's come to him?' he wondered, thinking back over the day and realising he had seen neither Roberts nor Bracy, and had in fact only seen NCOs. 'Well, he's an orficer, he has important things to do,' he told himself firmly, damping down the childish complaint that his class was an important thing. On the third day he saw Bracy, and hurried over to him, smiling.

'Good morning, sir,' said Gedge. 'Do you want to do some reading today?'

'I think we may have to stop for a while, Gedge,' said Bracy. 'You have more duties now that the Doctor has declared you almost entirely fit. We should take a break.' He nodded and walked off. Gedge stood there, his disappointment so immediate that it was some moments before he realised he had not saluted as Bracy left. It came into his mind that he had not even had a chance to ask about Bracy talking to Drummond, as he had said he would do. Not even the realisation that Bracy must have inquired after him from the Doctor could stem the flood of misery that overwhelmed him. 'What did I do?' he thought. 'He knows I can fit it all in, I wouldn't skip any duties. Don't he like me?' He trudged away, his spirit low.

The next week was a misery to Gedge. He would look down the length of the canal, and gaze into the sky, where the _ayit_ flyers swooped and manoeuvred, becoming more and more skilled, and leaving him further and further behind. When he could, he would engage the Martian servants in conversation, desiring to prove to Bracy that he would not let his studies in the language slip. It was a matter of some frustration to him that those servants who would return his salutations seemed to regard him as a method whereby they might improve their grasp of English. Most of all, he found himself watching for Bracy, his eyes following the young lieutenant as he strode across the parade ground, or as he conversed with the other officers. Gedge could not shake off the conviction that he had somehow offended the officer, and wished with all his heart that he could find a way in which to remedy this. 'He don't have to give you a reason,' he told himself sternly. 'He's an officer and you're not, and that's the beginning and end of it. Oh, how I hope as he hasn't jest grown bored of me!'

It was as he was standing sentry duty, and idly watching the _ayit_ float lazily across the sky that he noticed two of them detach themselves from the little flock and swoop off quickly, away from the direction of New London. Within seconds they were no more than specks and then were gone, the speed and agility with which the flew showing beyond a doubt that their riders were experienced in the control of the beasts. He thought no more of it as he watched the rest of the _ayit_ gradually sink to the ground. He had been but recently relieved of his duty when he saw the two _ayit_ returning. One stooped down upon the stables, while the other came straight as an arrow towards the fort. As it drew near, more and more soldiers began to point up at it. Gedge watched with a critical eye – surely the rider was urging it faster than the beast could easily bear? Then it was upon the fort, and with frantic beatings of its mighty wings it landed like a leaf discarded in autumn, right in the middle of the parade ground. The rider threw off his harness with practiced ease and Gedge saw it was the Martian soldier John. The man ran, straight for the officers' houses, ignoring all cries after him and demands that he not leave his big old bat cluttering up the place. After but a few scant minutes he was seen running back to the _ayit_ , his long legs covering the ground in rapid strides, yet leaving the impression that he was not running as fast as he might. In his wake was a great stir of activity. Gedge saw Bracy running for the fort's chapel, while Roberts was shouting for the sergeants to attend him. The Major and the colonel looked on gravely, and then the peace of the day was broken as the chapel bell began to sound out with wild discordant peals.

Gedge's observations were broken into at this point by Sergeant Gee shouting for the men to fall in. He hurried to his place in the ranks and whispered to Fred, 'Here, what's going on?'

'Dunno,' said Fred. 'Everyone's awful excited, though.'

As he spoke, they both heard the sound of answering bells rising from New London. The officers stood before them.

'Men,' said Colonel Graves, 'we must make the fortress ready for war. The most of you will be assigned to collecting material to build a temporary redoubt before the man gates. Some of you – the fastest runners, for example, will leave within a few minutes to journey to New London to take away the civilians – they must all be relocated with the fortress by tonight.

This pronouncement caused a great stir among the lads, and some were of the opinion that civilians in a fortress was a recipe for disaster. A brusque command from Sergeant Gee stemmed their murmurs and whispers, and they all looked at the colonel, willing him to continue talking and to tell them what was happening. Nor were they disappointed, for he looked on them sternly and spoke again.

'Now is the time when you must prove your worth as soldiers of the Queen,' he said. 'A large force of uncivilised Martians has been spotted, a little more than a day's journey away and heading for New London. They are armed and outfitted for war. It is our duty to see that they do not succeed in their murderous plans.'

The men murmured among themselves again as the swiftest of their number were selected to oversee the civilian withdrawal to the fortress. The rest were put to work immediately, building a wall of wood before the main gate.

'Fred! Here, Fred!' said Gedge excitedly. 'We're goin' to see some action at last, hey?'

Fred smiled cheerfully, 'yes,' he said, 'we'll show those Martians what for.'

Fired with boyish excitement and fervent patriotism, the two young soldiers bent their backs willingly to the work once more, singing snatches of songs as they hauled heavy wood to and fro, determined that no savage Martian would fight their way through their fine, secure barrier.


	17. Chapter 17

**In which battle is joined.**

 

The fort was filled with urgent activity, soldiers rushing back and forth on appointed tasks. Before the gate a sturdy wall had been constructed of sandbags and wood. It was constructed so that the soldiers behind it could kneel upon the sandbags at the back of the wall and comfortably fire over it, and so that they could, if need be, scale it quickly in pursuit of the enemy. A gap had been left in it, through which the citizens of New London were streaming in good array, shepherded by the soldiers who had been sent to bring them to the safety of the fort. They clung together in families, clutching their prized possessions that they had swiftly gathered together.

Following their orders, the soldiers separated the women and children from the men and the older boys, and hurried them away to the stoutest of the buildings, where they were left in the care of some of the soldiers who had lain ill in the hospital wards, and were still too weak to fight alongside their comrades. The men and the older boys were put in the charge of experienced soldiers, and were armed with rifles. Some of them had old weapons themselves, but these the soldiers took from them, laughing gaily that such weapons had been superseded by modern science and that the Enfield rifle was superior in all ways.

Once all the civilians had reached the refuge of the fort, Roberts gave the order that the gap in the wall should be sealed, which the men obeyed with eager speed. He strode back and forth along its length, Bracy and Drummond at his side, nodding in satisfaction at the well made defence. Above the fort, circling in the sky the _ayit_ riders kept look out for the enemy forces.

'They'll run through the city first,' said Drummond. 'Taking what they can, and burning what they can't, no doubt. The cowards and thieves! Then they'll turn their attention to us.'

'Are they so different from the natives of this area?' asked Bracy. 'For they seem so quiet and contented with our presence.'

'Savages,' said Drummond. He lowered his voice, murmuring, 'If it were not for the ancient enmity between the natives of this area and those of others, you would not find these 'quiet and content' people so quiet. We have armed them well against their enemies, and so they esteem us their friends. Do not be led astray, Bracy, the veneer of civilisation is thin upon them. In battle you will see them lose their Christian training.'

Roberts looked upon the thin Scottish officer in alarm, saying, 'Do you tell me that we will have to worry about the native regiments at this time? For Heaven's sake, man, we cannot fight an enemy both within and without the walls!'

'No, no,' said Drummond, 'They hate their neighbours, not us. We have always treated them well, and have formed them into a modern force. They are grateful and loyal. It is just that,' and he looked round before continuing, 'certain allowances may have to be made to keep them that way. Actions which would result in severe discipline for a British soldier may have to be ignored, and they will be sorry for them themselves once the heat of the battle has cooled. They are good boys, in the main, but ancient grudges are cherished here and we cannot expect them to act like gentlemen.'

'Are you saying we will have to look the other way if they mutilate the enemy?' asked Bracy, remembering one of the more dreadful carvings he had seen in the ancient towers. 'We can't do that, Drummond, we need to help them rise above such barbarous practices.'

'Bracy thinks the whole universe will act reasonably if only it is given the chance,' smiled Roberts. 'Let's worry about that after the fight, hey, old chap? I for one don't much care what they do as long as they do it to the enemy, not us. If they feel sorry afterwards, that's all to the good, and it can be the chaplains' problem, not ours. All we need to is direct them in battle, as is our duty.'

'That's it exactly, Roberts!' cried Drummond. 'They'll acquit themselves like men, never fear. Just remember that they are Martian and are not yet used to civilised ways – are we in agreement, Bracy?'

Bracy did not answer, but held his hand out to Drummond, who shook it firmly. Roberts then grasped his hand, smiling upon him fondly. Bracy smiled back at his old friend, thinking there would be time enough afterwards for them to laugh at Drummond's assertion that the men who had carried out the great and wondrous acts of engineering around them knew nothing of civilisation.

'Let's see to the men,' said Roberts, clapping Bracy upon the shoulder. The three young officers separated, walking quickly apart to see how the various tasks they had assigned were progressing.

* * *

As Gedge watched, an _ayit_ circled down and landed as near to the colonel's position as possible. Smith unbuckled himself and ran to the colonel, saluting and crying out his message. Gedge sighed that he could not hear, and disconsolately watched Smith salute once more and run back to his _ayit_. As the great beast rose into the sky once more Gedge felt his heart constrict with the desire to be up there, the wind cool in his face. He missed the thrill of the flight more than he could admit to his friends, and hoped that soon he might speak to Lieutenant Drummond and be readmitted to the training. 'Oh,' he thought, 'even if I had to start over again from the beginning! I wouldn't mind!' He looked at the officers clustered around the colonel and considered how he might speak with Lieutenant Bracy. 'He won't have forgotten his word,' thought Gedge, 'he'll speak to Lieutenant Drummond on my behalf like he said.' As he watched the officers dispersed, and each began speaking quickly to the NCOs who, in their turn, advanced on the men, shouting for them to form up.

The men formed into ranks smartly and stood ready, waiting for their orders. Gedge could hear the same information being relayed up and down the line. The enemy was approaching the fort, in good order and would be upon them in no more than half an hour. It was nerve racking to wait, but wait they had to. Gedge felt his skin prickle all over and he smiled weakly at Fred beside him.

'I s'y, Fred,' he muttered, 'I don't half wish they'd get a move on!'

'They can take their time, I ain't particular,' said Fred, his voice sounding rather higher than usual.

All at once Gedge was terribly glad that Wilson was on an _ayit_ and high above the coming battle. It seemed most dreadful to him to consider his friend becoming confused in the noise and danger and putting himself and others into peril.

'No talking, there,' said Gee, scowling in his usual manner at Gedge, who looked back as innocently as he could. Much of the venom of the sergeant's speech seemed to have leached away, and Gedge watched him walk off, his mind most clearly on other things than soldiers' cheek.

Gee marched away from the lines as fast as he could, never stopping, nor looking to left nor right for fear he would catch an officer's eye and be sent upon a task. He came to the building where the ladies and children were housed, a series of stout storerooms with heavy doors that locked securely. He paused outside the doors and cast an unforgiving eye over the men on duty.

'If the enemy get in to the compound you keep them out of here,' he said sternly. 'I don't care if the Doctor thinks you're not fit to fight, you fight.'

'Yes, Sergeant,' said one of them, and the others nodded.

Gee paused, then drew breath and went on. 'And if there's too many of them and you don't think you can keep them out,' he stopped. 'You don't let them take the women alive, you understand?' he continued, seemingly in a fury.

They all nodded solemnly, and he thrust past them entering the building. They watched him go with a sympathy they knew better than to show to his face.

'Poor man,' said the one who had spoken before. 'I'm glad I ain't married.'

Inside the dimly lit rooms, Gee stepped through the crowd of women who clutched at his sleeve crying for news.

'It's all right, ma'am,' he said time and again, 'nothing to worry about, our boys are ready for them.'

At last he saw the face he wanted above all to see, and shaking off a bureaucrat's wife as civilly as he might, seized his own wife's arm and drew her apart to an alcove, shielding her from the crowd with his body.

'You shouldn't be here,' muttered Mrs Gee, 'they'll all want their men, now.'

'I had to see you,' said Gee.

'I should be with the Doctor,' said Mrs Gee, 'you get me over to the hospital where I can do some good.'

'No, you stay here. You hear me? No slipping out when those useless idiots at the door has their backs turned.'

She regarded him with fond annoyance as he seemed at a loss for anything else to say.

'All right, I'll stay where I am,' she said.

He nodded, and cast a glance over his shoulder, then whispered in her ear. 'Listen. I want you to do something. And you promised to obey me, mind.' He ignored the look on her face and went on, surreptitiously taking out his revolver and pressing it into her hands, 'if them devils get in here, you don't let yourself get captured. I've shown you how to use this and yer to use it, you hear me, Eliza?'

'What about the others?' she whispered.

'Don't you mind them, they wouldn't mind you.'

'They're women like me, Arthur,' she said fiercely.

He nodded, and touched her cheek softly. 'You do as you think right, but you promise me you ain't gettin' taken alive.'

'It ain't comin' to that,' she said loyally. 'But if it does, don't you worry.'

He nodded, turning aside so that she could not see his face. He stepped away, blindly heading for the doors, and heard her call out behind him.

'Arthur!'

He turned back, seeing that the revolver had vanished into the bag of medical supplies that Doctor had allowed her take from the hospital supplies. She stepped up to him and put a hand on his arm.

'You forgot to tell me what you want for yer supper tonight,' she said, smiling fondly.

He groaned and embraced her fiercely, crushing her against him and not caring one whit for the outraged tutting from the ladies of the city. Only when she whispered that he should return to his men did he release her and step back.

'Nice bit of liver,' he said roughly. 'With some onions, if yer have them.' His voice deserting him, he stepped away and walked smartly from the room, never looking back.

 

* * *

 

Gedge looked out over the wall, and saw dust rising into the air and movement. Second by second more details could be seen, and it became clear that they were facing a large force. At length the enemy drew up opposite the gate of the fort and stood silently, watching the soldiers. Some of the Martians were riding on huge scaly beasts that scored the ground with their metal-sheathed talons. They were as tall at the shoulder as a man of good stature, and had long serpentine bodies and large sharp-snouted heads. Their riders were clad in bright coloured silks and shining bronze armour, and carried long lances. Behind them stood the greater part of the enemy force, tall dark infantry men, their hair bound tightly back and thin curved swords hung at their sides. They too were dressed brightly, although they did not wear as much bronze armour. They leaned on their spears, seemingly to rest before the conflict.

There was, for several minutes, no movement on either side. Then one of the well-dressed riders came forward and rode slowly along between the armies, facing the fort and calling out harshly. He raised his lance over his head and brandished it at the British soldiers, all the while crying out scornfully.

'What's he saying?' asked Fred. 'C'mon, Bill, you've learned their lingo.'

'I don't know,' said Gedge, listening hard, 'something rude about our mothers, I think.'

'I'll skin him!' cried Fred, outraged.

'Quiet!' snapped Gee from before them, and Fred held his tongue.

The rider continued in this manner for some time before slowly and insultingly turning his back and making his way to rejoin his army once more. The British soldiers stood tense and waiting. Then there were the sounds of fearful yells and screams and the Martians poured towards them like an on-rushing flood. The men held their position, bringing their rifles up and waiting and hoping for the order to fire to be given. The enemy was much too close in Gedge's estimation when Roberts cried out 'Fire!' and the front line of the men fired as one, and then fell to one knee to reload. 'Back rank, fire!' cried Bracy, and Gedge squeezed his trigger and saw Martians stumble and fall face down in the dust. Again, the front rank fired, and then the back, and then the officers were all crying 'Fire at will!' and the men formed one line and fired again and again. The Martians slowed and retreated in disarray, and the order to cease fire was given. The ground between the two forces was littered with the dead, the dying and the wounded. Gedge could see the rider who had mocked them, his long hair in disarray, his bright silks stained with blood and his great and terrible mount lying dead beside him. 'Why'd you come here?' he thought, 'Why'd you want to come and get yerself killed?' As he looked upon the dead warrior and his mount it came to him that the beast, so terrifying in its appearance to the soldiers, might have borne a name as harmless and funny to its rider as the _ayit_ Bessie, and he all at once wanted to weep. 'Don't you be such a girl, Bill,' he told himself angrily. 'Crying over a great ugly thing like that!' He composed himself and waited for orders.

Across the field of battle, the Martians had also reformed and were shaking their spears in anger and yelling out at the fort. They began running towards the fort once more, and shots rang out to greet them. A detachment of them peeled away and ran parallel to the fort, rushing suddenly at its walls far further down. The soldiers stationed on the walls fired down upon them, but one of the great beasts got through to the wall and began running straight up it, its metal-clad talons gripping the stone. Before it and its rider had reached the top, a fusillade of shots sent it and him to their deaths.

At the wall, the Martians flung themselves forward, howling war cries. The acrid smell of gunpowder stung Gedge's eyes and nose, and he had long since lost count of the number of times he had fired. A Martian reached the wall and tried to jab his spear into the men behind it, but Roberts, as cool as if he were merely strolling along on a pleasant day, shot him down with his revolver. The man before Gedge fell suddenly, transfixed with a spear, and Gedge hurried forward to take his place. Wave after wave of the enemy came on and he thought he had never been more tired. He very much wanted to lie down and sleep, and his limbs seemed to have increased in weight a thousandfold. All at once he heard the bugle and the order to retreat and took up his place, firing and running back as the men on the walls rained shot after shot down into the enemy to allow their comrades to safely leave the field of battle. The heavy gates of the fortress slammed shut behind them and the enemy screamed in rage outside.

 

* * *

'Sir!' cried Roberts to the colonel, 'why were we ordered to retreat? We were holding our own!'

'Their force is larger than at first reported,' said the colonel. 'Bravery is all very well, Roberts, but the men were tiring. As they can take rest in the fort I judged it better to allow them retreat. I trust you are not too disapproving of my orders, sir?'

'No, sir,' said Roberts apologetically, but when sent to rest he complained bitterly and privately to Bracy and Drummond, saying, 'They are laughing at us! I think it's shameful that British soldiers should flee from such a rabble.'

'There are an awful lot of them to defeat all at once,' said Bracy, 'it may well be that once the men are rested they can go out again and fight with renewed vigour.'

'No, Roberts is right,' said Drummond, in a high temper such as his Celtic heritage often had, 'it's a disgrace! And it sets a bad example to the native regiments, to see us run.'

'We didn't run, we retreated as we were ordered to do,' said Bracy, with more patience than he felt.

'We ran,' said Drummond. 'That's what the natives will think, both the enemy and our regiments.'

'I'm going to check on the men,' said Bracy, turning from them. His temper was not improved by hearing Drummond say 'Queer chap,' as he left. He made a round of the fort, seeing that all was in order. The native soldiers saluted him as well as any of the British lads, and seemed cheerful and polite. 'They are in no way savages,' he thought with some satisfaction. 'Drummond is quite wrong.' As he walked around he saw Gedge, sitting in exhaustion against a wall, his leg thrust out before him.

'Gedge,' said Bracy, noting with some pleasure how the lad's face lit up. 'Why, where is Carr? You two are always together.'

'Fred – I mean Private Carr, sir, he got a cut off one of them spears. He's gone to the Doctor, sir,' said Gedge.

'Well, the Doctor will mend him, have no fear,' said Bracy. He looked down at Gedge's leg. 'But what about you, Gedge? Is your ankle causing you pain?'

'I'm all right, sir,' said Gedge, 'thank you for askin'. I'm jest tired.'

'You fought well, lad,' said Bracy, to make him smile again.

'Thank you, sir,' said Gedge. Then the smile faded from his face and he looked shy and sad. 'Sir,' he said, 'I never killed no one before. I know they're the enemy but I feel –' he looked down at the ground in misery.

'And they're Martians, and you like everything to do with Mars,' said Bracy in a kind tone. He felt very tired himself, and wished that he could sit on the ground like a private soldier. 'Nobody likes it, lad,' he said, 'or if they do, well then, they're hardly better than a brute. It had to be done, to save the life of your friends and the civilians. You wouldn't want your friends to be killed would you?'

'No, sir,' said Gedge. 'Of course you're right, sir.'

Bracy nodded and thought he should get back to the other officers. 'Another few moments won't hurt,' he thought, 'we are all supposed to be taking some rest.' He hunkered down beside the young private who looked at him happily. 'You are sure about your ankle, Gedge?' said Bracy, putting a hand on Gedge's boot. 'You should not over exert yourself, and then risk failing your comrades due to a recurrence of your injury.'

'It's all right,' said Gedge. 'I won't fail you, sir. I won't disappoint you again.'

'Of course you won't,' said Bracy gently. 'I know I can put my confidence in you.' He felt deeply pleased to see Gedge's face glow with pleasure and thought how good it was to hold conversation with someone who did not seem to disagree with everything he said, like Drummond. 'Gedge,' he said, 'I have been thinking that we should resume our lessons in the Martian tongue once more. Unless, of course, you have no desire to. There is no obligat—'

'Oh, sir! Yes, sir!' cried Gedge, cutting across him. 'Oh, I didn't mean to interrupt yer, sir, but yes please! I'd like that more than anything!'

Bracy laughed gaily at the lad's eager smile, his heart lifting. 'Gedge,' he said, 'when all this is settled I promise I will torment you with grammar. There, is that agreeable?'

'Every day, sir?' asked Gedge, his eyes shining.

'Every day that I can,' said Bracy. 'And we will climb all the towers of New London, to see what has changed since our previous visit. And I have heard there are rock carvings at some distance down the canal. Some day, when our duty allows we might take a boat down to see them.'

Gedge seized his hand convulsively. 'Yes, sir,' he said, his voice tight with sudden tears. 'Don't you go with no one else to see them.'

'Never,' said Bracy quietly. 'Now you get some rest and some food. I must see what the colonel thinks of our situation. No, no, don't stand. I will see you soon, Gedge, and we can plan our excursions.'

He walked away quickly, greatly moved by the lad's emotion. He felt ashamed not to have defended him better all the times Roberts had laughed at the poor boy's manner of speech or his interest in learning. 'Oh, Rob,' he thought, 'just because a man may have an accent you think comical it does not mean he is unintelligent or uninterested in learning. Why, Gedge has more interest in learning than you ever had!' He nodded to himself in determination, thinking, 'I will give that boy the opportunities that circumstance has denied him. What matter if Rob thinks I'm playing favourites? I will not deny Gedge his chance to better himself.' Feeling cheered by this resolve, he made his way back to rejoin his brother officers, thinking that by now there must surely be some food.


	18. Chapter 18

**In which the conflict continues.**

 

For half a day the Martians sat outside the fort, calling out in their harsh language, and occasionally shooting wildly at the defenders with the rifles they had seized from the slain. They dismantled the wall that had been built before the fort and tossed the sandbags about in annoyance that they contained nothing of use. They then piled the bodies of the British dead together and made mockery of them, to the fury of the soldiers within the fort.

'We have to get our men back for burial!' cried Roberts to the colonel, in an agony of angry misery. 'Oh, my poor boys, how I have failed them!'

'We will recover them,' said the colonel. 'How is the morale of the men?'

'They're eager to fight, sir,' said Roberts.

'They're in good spirits, sir,' said Bracy.

'Good. And the native regiments, Drummond?'

'More than eager, sir,' said Drummond. 'They have long hated these raiding parties.'

'Well, let us see if a sally can regain the dead,' said the colonel.

The young officers rushed out, ready to organise that very thing. Drummond raced off to the native soldiers, and Roberts put a detaining hand on Bracy's arm.

'Bracy,' he said in a tense, passionate voice, 'I am feeling very low. I am surely to blame for those boys' deaths. I did something wrong, I know it. And the way they have been mocked by those savages! If I were a proper man I would never have left them out there on the field. '

'Rob,' said Bracy, 'you are a fine officer. You are not to blame, you did not lead them wrongly. We must do our duty by them now, but they would in no wise hold you to account.' He squeezed Roberts' hand and smiled. 'Come now,' he continued. 'We must have a care for our own morale as well as that of the men.'

Roberts gave him a wan smile and went to speak to the NCOs. Bracy climbed up on the wall and looked out. The Martian force was camped at a distance, but the warriors ranged back and forth, still yelling out challenges.

'If you can take down their riding beasts, do so,' said Bracy to the men stationed up on the wall. 'We don't want them coming over at us in the night.'

'Yes, sir,' said the soldier he was speaking to. 'We'll get 'em.'

'Good lad,' said Bracy, 'we will be going out there. Make sure we get covering fire from many angles.'

Down on the ground he found the party chose for the foray briefed and ready. He frowned when he saw Gedge, who was most definitely favouring his injured leg. Bracy went up to him quietly, not wishing to shame the boy.

'Gedge,' he said. 'That ankle is causing you pain. You are not coming with us. No, do not argue.'

'Sir,' said Gedge, 'I'm all right. I had a rest and some food, like you said. It's just a way I got into the habit of standing, sir. Don't make me stay, please.'

'I can't keep an eye on you out there,' said Bracy, feeling he would have to be harsh with the lad.

'Bless you, sir, that's all right. I want to come to keep an eye on _you_ ,' said Gedge, smiling. 'I don't want you gettin' into trouble arout me.'

Bracy hid his laugh, and looked sternly at the young soldier. 'Gedge,' he said, 'don't be silly. You don't have to try and earn the esteem of anyone here, I know you have fought well already. No one will think badly of you for following an order to stay behind.'

'Sir,' Gedge said simply, 'they was my mates. I want to get them back.'

After some moments' silence Bracy nodded. He would not want to be held back from such a mission, and it was wrong to consider that a private soldier might have different sensibilities. He looked gravely at Gedge, saying, 'Very well. But remember, I will not have time to spare for the well being of a single man.'

'Thank you, sir,' said Gedge.

Bracy looked over the rest of the men, and the native soldiers chosen by Drummond. They were excited, their eyes fixed on the gate, one and another of them breaking forth into a snatch of song, only to be hushed by the NCOs. Bracy smiled, recognising lines of the more bloodthirsty hymns that had always appealed to him as a boy. Clearly the missionaries with whom these men had been in contact had been of a martial mindset. The sound of the hymns roused in him the realisation that he could not go out to fight without making peace in his own self with Drummond, and he strode over to the officer, whose thin fingers were perfectly steady as he loaded his revolver.

'Drummond,' said Bracy, holding out his hand, 'will you take my hand before we go?'

'Surely,' said Drummond, grasping it firmly. 'And when we return, also.'

'Yes,' said Bracy smiling. 'Your lads seem ready for the off,' he continued. 'They are fine soldiers.'

'And yours,' said Drummond. 'We'll all pull together, and show that mob what it means to face the British Army.'

Bracy smiled again, and gave Drummond's hand a final squeeze, then went over to Roberts, who seemed more raised in spirits, now that he had something to accomplish. He took Roberts' hand and held it tight.

'Rob,' he said, 'you are looking better.'

'I am feeling better,' said Roberts. 'I'm glad you aren't ashamed to take my hand after my outburst earlier.'

'You are a fine officer, as I said,' said Bracy. 'I am proud to serve under you. Let's go bring our boys home.'

'Yes,' said Roberts, 'yes.' He turned to face the soldiers behind them and called out, 'Fix bayonets!'

* * *

Gedge stood, carefully bearing his weight evenly on his feet. He hadn't meant for Bracy to note his tiredness. At the front of their party the captain and the lieutenant stood, their hands grasping the other's. Then Captain Roberts turned to them and cried out the order to fix bayonets, and the NCOs all began repeating it, up and down the line, yelling, 'Fix bay'nets!'

Gedge slid his bayonet into place, giving it the little turn to fix it securely. In a moment, the gates would be flung open and they would dash out, hoping to alarm the enemy and seize back the bodies of their slain. He hoped that the Martians had used up all the ammunition they had taken from the dead British soldiers, and that they would have only to contend with the weapons native to the planet. 'They're bad enough,' he thought, feeling as if the world had slowed down about him as he saw the soldiers at the gate, ready to open it as fast as they might. All around him he could see his comrades lips moving and he saw the Roman lads crossing themselves and could hear snatches of prayer. The officers had drawn their sabres and their revolvers. For the first time Gedge saw how young they were, almost as young as the private soldiers. He couldn't seem to hear properly anymore, just bits and pieces that made little sense to him.

' – and deliver us from –'

'—though I walk through the valley of the shadow –'

'—and at the hour of our death, amen.'

'Give the order, Rob.'

The gates clashed open, and Captain Roberts roared, ' _Charge!_ ' and Gedge found himself sprinting forward and yelling like all the others and suddenly his hearing was restored and the noise was deafening. The Martians, who had been taken by surprise were mainly further back and only a small number ran towards them, yelling blood-curdling cries of their own. Just ahead of him, Gedge saw Roberts slash a Martian across the throat, the enemy soldier tumbling down in the dust, blood soaking the ground. A second later Gedge felt a terrible shock all up his arms, and gave the rifle the twist and jerk he'd been taught to free the bayonet and ran on, sparing no thought for the horrid surprise on the face of the Martian he had just killed. Beside him and overtaking him, their long legs covering the ground with great speed, the native soldiers screamed war cries and gutted their fellow natives with great joy. Then there were no more enemy Martians before them, and they had attained their goal, and were seizing the bodies of their fallen comrades and running back for the fort. Drummond cried out twice for his native soldiers to obey and turn back, which they did with some reluctance, still shouting defiance at the enemy who had as it were been transfixed for a few vital moments with shock.

As Gedge ran back he could hear the cries of the Martian force behind them, coming up fast. The sound gave wings to all the British soldiers' feet and they sped along, the gates already closing before them. At that moment Gedge felt something in his ankle give, and he stumbled and fell, landing hard on the red earth. He lay there for an instant, stunned, and then hands grabbed him and pulled him back to his feet.

'Go!' cried Bracy, standing in front of him to face the oncoming horde.

Gedge shook himself and cried out, 'I ain't leavin' you!'

Without wasting a second breath on speech Bracy whirled and grabbed Gedge's arm, running as fast as he could for the gate, which was open the barest crack. Every step was agony for Gedge, and yet he could not stop, for if he did he was condemning both of them. At the very moment that it seemed to him that the enemy was upon them Bracy pulled him through the gate, which as hastily shut behind them. A sound came as of spears thudding into the stout wood, and the soldiers on the walls shot down again and again as the heavy bar was lifted into position.

The men of the sally-party and the rest of the soldiers raised a cheer, acclaiming Bracy a hero. Gedge found himself slapped on the back by a great crowd of soldiers, all delighted to see a comrade snatched from death. Bracy was being congratulated by his brother officers, and another crowd of privates was leaping and dancing about him, cheering. Gedge felt dazed and sore, his ankle feeling like it had decided to break itself again. He was relieved to be snatched suddenly from the noisy crowd of soldiers and pulled sharply into the bottom of the stairwell by the gate that led up to the top of the walls. Bracy slammed the door behind him and glared at Gedge, his face pale and set in fury.

'I gave you an order and you disobeyed me,' he hissed. 'How _dare_ you?'

'I couldn't leave you, sir,' said Gedge, still dazed from the noise outside.

Bracy seized him by the shoulders and shook him hard, crying, 'When I give you an order, sir, you obey. I am your superior officer, you do not disobey me. You do not stop to think, you do not do anything but that which you have been ordered to do. Do you understand me, sir?'

'They'd have killed you!' wailed Gedge, 'I couldn't run off and let them kill you!' He was feeling rather ill from the shaking, and did not quite know how to hold his rifle in the proper manner, his training having neglected this point of etiquette. He at least tried to hold it away from both of them, so that Bracy would not be cut by accident. In so doing his gaze fell full upon his weapon for the first time since he had re-entered the fort. 'There's blood on my bay'net,' he said in a wondering tone, and all at once remembered the Martian's face and the feel of the shock in his arms. He began to tremble all over and although the day was as hot as any other, he felt very cold. He thought he might be sick, and didn't know how to save himself from such a shame in front of an officer.

To Gedge's very great relief, he found himself being sat down on the stairs and the top buttons of his tunic loosened.

'Breathe deeply,' said Bracy. 'It's all right, you're all right.'

Gedge said nothing for several minutes, until the feeling of sickness and panic had subsided. He couldn't meet Bracy's eyes. He thought bitterly that he was a bad soldier, and that Bracy was right to chastise him. He had failed his officer again, and now he could not even act like a man. He was surprised to feel Bracy sit beside him, and put an arm about him.

'I looked back and you were lying on the ground,' said Bracy quietly. 'It wasn't the best time for a nap, Gedge.' He laughed a little at his own joke, and Gedge smiled shyly. 'I thought they'd killed you, I thought I'd have to carry your body back with the others. I was so very glad to find you were alive, more glad than I can say.' He tightened the arm about Gedge's shoulders, saying, 'I'm sorry I shouted at you. I know you wanted to help me. But you do know you must obey me, don't you?'

'Yes, sir,' whispered Gedge, leaning on Bracy in exhaustion. 'I'm sorry, sir.'

'It's all right, my lad,' said Bracy very quietly. 'You mustn't worry.' He rubbed his hand across Gedge's close-cropped hair. 'You meant no disrespect, I know. The heat of battle makes us say and do things we would not normally.'

Gedge closed his eyes and thought he might fall asleep where he sat. Bracy's voice was quiet and comforting, the touch of his fingers was calming and soporific, and he felt safe for the first time since before the gates had been opened. He was almost fast asleep when he realised Bracy was whispering his name.

'Sir?' he answered sleepily.

'I didn't mean to wake you, Gedge,' said Bracy. 'I just thought I should get you to the Doctor, to have him look at that ankle. You rest, though, if you want, we can go at any point.'

'Thank you, sir,' said Gedge, muzzily. 'Din't mean to fall asleep on you, sir.'

'That's quite all right,' said Bracy. 'Poor lad.' He put his hand to Gedge's cheek and turned the poor tired face to his. Gedge smiled at him, happy to be forgiven and taken care of. 'Ah, Gedge,' whispered Bracy, 'you cannot know how sick I felt when I thought you were gone for ever.'

'But here I am, sir,' said Gedge.

'Yes,' said Bracy, and said no more, the silence hanging between them.

At that moment the door opened and Drummond looked in, smiling cheerfully.

'There you are, Bracy!' he cried, 'and the rescued lad as well! We were all wondering where you'd hidden yourselves. Come on, man, Colonel Graves wants your report.'

Bracy laughed a little and levered himself up from the stair. 'Very well,' he said. 'I'll ask you to go and beg the colonel's pardon for me, Drummond. I shall be along presently, but I have an injured man to get to the Doctor first.'

'Let one of the enlisted men take him,' said Drummond.

Bracy shook his head. 'He's my man, I'll take him,' he said. 'Come on, Gedge,' he continued, helping the lad upright. 'Put your arm about me, that's right. Now, off we go.' And slowly and painfully, Gedge made his way across to the hospital wards, supported by Bracy the whole way.

 

* * *

Gedge was not pleased to find himself lying in a hospital bed once more, although he had been assured he had been the victim of a bad sprain, rather than another broken bone. He lay there for two days before he was told that once again he had to start the Doctor's painful exercises to strengthen the muscles and bone. At times he could hear the noise of rifle fire and sometimes chilling cries that he knew came from the native regiments. 'Oh, and me stuck here like an invalid,' he thought in annoyance. 'What use am I to my comrades?' It was with the purest joy that he saw Bracy come in, late on the second day.

'Oh, sir!' cried Gedge, 'tell me what's going on, please!'

'The enemy have begun drifting away,' said Bracy cheerfully. 'They have not the discipline nor the liking for a siege. We have wells, we have ample supplies and they know they would be in for a long wait. In fact they began leaving the evening of our foray – one of the native soldiers said it is because they admired our bravery in fighting over a point of honour. It is rather galling simply to sit around and wait for an enemy to lose patience and simply go home, but it is a strategy that is thus far proving successful.'

'I hope they hurry up and go,' said Gedge. 'Because then the city folk will go home too. One of the civilian gentlemen, sir, he was in here just for one day because he'd eaten something that didn't agree with him. I hope as I never complain so much, sir. I was ashamed, jest listening to him.'

Bracy laughed gaily, and ruffled Gedge's hair – if the lad had had hair long enough to ruffle. 'You spend your strength on getting well,' he said, 'not on blushing to hear the civilians' complaints. I want you strong and healthy, Gedge. You must win the Doctor's approval for your discharge from this bed and back to full duty as soon as possible.'

'Yes, sir,' said Gedge, resolving to be better by the morning. 'Is there some special need of all the men, sir?'

'Why, Gedge,' smiled Bracy, 'have you forgotten already? You must be fit to climb stairs, as many stairs as you possibly can. We said we would climb the towers, did we not? I will take you there the moment these wild Martians leave in search of easier prey. Now – shall you get better?'

'I'm feeling much better already, sir!' cried Gedge.

Bracy ruffled his hair again, cheerfully. 'Good,' he said. 'I will count the days. Now, you raise that leg up, like I told you before, and you try to sleep. I will come back tomorrow.'

He left, and Gedge obeyed him willingly, his dreams full of the tall, quiet towers and Bracy's encouraging smile.


	19. Chapter 19

**In which there is an excursion.**

 

 

Bracy was as good as his word, and when Gedge was judged well enough by the Doctor they went back into the city and spent a day exploring the towers again. Gedge was very tired and happy when they finally reached the fort that evening, and was doing his best not to favour his ankle in any way. His friends looked askance at him and did not mention his excursion in a way that seemed almost to shout out their unease that he should have such a strange interest. Gedge did not let them influence him in any way and slept soundly and peacefully, images from his day surfacing in his dreams. It was not until mid morning the next day that Fred snatched a word with him.

'Why d'you like those old towers?' he asked, looking at Gedge in such a way that it seemed he was awaiting an honest answer.

Gedge shrugged. 'I jest like them,' he said. 'They're terrible old, Fred. Lieutenant Bracy says they're thousand of years old. Imagine that! The Martians buildin' things like that thousands of years ago!'

'Well, they've gone downhill since then,' said Fred bluntly. 'You'd think folk as could put up a tower like that might have given us a bit of bother, but it's our town now.'

'They gave us enough bother,' said Gedge, 'and you've got the scar to prove it.'

'They ain't throwing us off Mars, though, are they?' said Fred. 'You should be thinkin' about the future, Bill, not diggin' up the past. Don't yer want to get ahead?'

'Yes, 'course I do,' said Gedge.

Fred took a deep breath and looked at nothing much in particular. 'That why you're with Mr Bracy every day?' He frowned at Gedge, saying, 'I _tole_ you, you spend too much time with him. You didn't listen, did yer? We're yer friends, not him.'

'You think I'm tryin' to get him to favour me, get me a pr'motion?' asked Gedge. 'Fred! How can yer even think that?'

'No,' said Fred. 'But, see here, Bill, d'you want to be his servant? 'Cos that'd be a good position for anyone to have, but yer wouldn't advance too far, would you? I thought you wanted to be a reg'lar sojer.'

Gedge did not answer, thinking that he would indeed be happy to have such a position and yet he would not want to be separated from his friends. That seemed a safe thing to say, so he quirked a smile at Fred, saying, 'C'mon, pard'ner, I wouldn't run off on yer, you know that.'

'I know,' said Fred. 'I jest want to see you with yer own kind, Bill. A man needs friends, and orficers ain't friends with enlisted men. If you told me he wanted you to carry his things up the tower, or wanted you to take down notes on what he said, I'd understand that. But you said he jest wanted to explore the tower with you, and why'd he want to do that? You ask yourself, Bill. You ask yourself why an orficer would act chummy with an 'listed man, and then you tell me, 'cos I don't know.'

'He likes me,' said Gedge, and felt himself blush. 'I think he does,' he continued.

'He likes his friends with their posh school speech; he likes never worryin' 'bout how he'll pay for anything; he likes bein' a gentleman. Don't fool yerself, Bill,' said Fred. 'Don't let him make a fool of you. You were terrible cut up before, when he jest stopped the lessons without a by-yer-leave. I don't want to see you so sad again, Bill, if he decides he's had enough of bein' your pal. It hurts something awful when a friend stops wantin' to be with you, stops wantin' to be yer friend.' He looked at Gedge sadly, in a way that made him feel guilty and uncomfortable.

'No doubt yer right,' said Gedge, an unhappy awareness in his heart that he would say almost anything to make Fred stop talking. 'I know my place, I'm jest a swaddy like you, Fred. I ain't puttin' on airs.'

'I know that,' said Fred, clapping him on the shoulder. 'I know you.'

They went about their duties, and Gedge found his heart torn, for Fred was one of his oldest friends and had only his welfare at heart. Yet Gedge could not keep from his mind the image of Bracy in the towers, looking at the carvings and calling his attention to details, encouraging him to read slowly and hesitatingly from the inscriptions. When he shut his eyes he could see the silent hot rooms, and Bracy eagerly running from window to window, looking out in sheerest pleasure at the city and the canals, and sitting on the deep sills, the sunlight brightening his fair hair. 'I'm sure he likes me,' thought Gedge, 'and it ain't disrespectful for me to like him, is it?' He thought about what Fred had said to him, and tried to imagine enjoying with Bracy the same pastimes he did with his friends. He could not quite manage to see Bracy playing poker, nor singing the popular songs the private soldiers liked. He could not imagine either what Bracy might consider an amusement, or what he did with Roberts in the evenings. It was too difficult to think of, so he turned his mind away from it. He had, after all, to be able to bend his mind to hard work that afternoon when he had his lesson in the Martian tongue.

After another two days Gedge was roused from his idle staring at the lesson book as it was twitched from his hands. He looked up in great surprise to see Bracy smiling at him.

'Why, Gedge,' said Bracy, 'you have been staring at the same page for almost a quarter of an hour. I do not think your mind is upon your tasks.'

'Sorry, sir,' said Gedge.

'Well, I have some news to focus your mind,' said Bracy. 'You remember, I hope, that there is a site of antiquarian interest at some distance down the great canal?'

Gedge found himself eagerly awaiting what Bracy would say to him.

'I have received permission to go and examine this site,' said Bracy, 'and I hope you might still be agreeable to the idea of accompanying me?'

'Oh, sir!' cried Gedge, 'oh yes!'

'Well, then,' said Bracy. 'I have made the acquaintance of a certain Professor Macquarrie, a Scottish gentleman, who proposes to journey to see these carvings as well, and who has offered to explain them to us. He has engaged a boat to take us down the site, where we will spend the night, journeying back by the next night. I am afraid I took the liberty of assuming you would come, and have already arranged for your leave. We set out tomorrow at dawn.'

Gedge could hardly concentrate on any task for the rest of the day, and that evening found himself in the unusual circumstance of losing at cards to Fred. His friends all laughed at him mercilessly, especially Fred, who pocketed his winnings quickly, as if they would vanish.

'What's got into you, Bill?' asked Davids. 'You ain't been yerself all day.'

'I'm going out of the fort tomorrow, overnight,' said Gedge in some excitement. 'Mr Bracy wants –' he looked at their faces close, and went on in some confusion, ' – he wants me ter help out some civilian folk who're going down the canal. I s'pose they want a mil'try escort.'

'Oh,' said Wilson, as if this was reasonable, 'bad luck he picked you, Bill. Those city people were complainin' from morn till night.'

Gedge shrugged, ashamed that he seemed to be such a skilled liar. Fred smiled at him in a way that seemed to say he did not believe the story, but nothing more was said of it. Gedge lay awake half the night, alternately excited at the prospect of his adventure and deeply ashamed to have told such a lie. He felt he had let both himself and Lieutenant Bracy down. After only a few hours of sleep he woke again and quietly readied himself, slipping silently outside and hurrying to the gate where he could see Bracy already standing.

'Sorry, sir,' he said, 'I didn't mean to be late.'

'You're not,' said Bracy, peering at his pocket watch in the pre-dawn dusk. 'We're both early, Gedge. Come on, let's go.'

They walked smartly to the canal and after a little came to the steps where Bracy said they would be collected. Gedge wandered back and forth, finding himself unable to keep still. As he peered up the canal in the direction of New London he saw a shape moving towards them in a slow and steady manner.

'Sir, sir!' he said in excitement.

'I see it,' smiled Bracy, lifting his bag.

The boat drew up by the steps and Gedge looked down at the Martian holding out a hand to help him down. 'Hello,' he said, in his best accent. 'I'm William Gedge, what's your name?'

The Martian smiled shyly at him and kept silent. Gedge hopped down into the boat, the Martian catching him to keep him steady. Bracy climbed down behind him, and stepped forward to shake the hand of the older gentleman that Gedge now saw rising from his seat upon some cushions.

'Professor Macquarrie,' said Bracy, 'I'm most awfully pleased that you were kind enough to allow us to come with you.'

'Not at all, my dear Lieutenant Bracy,' said Professor Macquarrie in an accent far stronger than that of Lieutenant Drummond. 'May I present my daughter, Margaret?' Two women became visible suddenly as they stepped forward, 'And my daughter's governess, Miss Sharpe,' continued the Professor.

'Miss Macquarrie, Miss Sharpe,' said Bracy, politely bowing, 'thank you so much for extending your hospitality to a couple of soldiers.'

'A pleasure to meet you, Lieutenant Bracy,' said Miss Macquarrie, a girl of no more than twenty, softly holding out a hand for him to take.

'Hmph,' said Miss Sharpe, a woman of middle years whose appearance matched her name in every particular.

'And this is Private Gedge,' said Bracy.

'Private Gedge,' said Miss Macquarrie politely.

'Honoured to meet you, Miss,' said Gedge, feeling rather out of place. 'And pleased to meet you too, Miss Sharpe.'

Miss Sharpe looked at him in a way that made him feel like he'd been caught hiding spiders in prayer books, and he retreated out of range. He looked round the boat instead, leaving Bracy to talk to the ladies. It had seemed quite large from the outside, but now that he was standing on its deck it suddenly seemed much smaller. There was a central mast, with a sail all rolled up at the top of it, and a variety of boxes were stacked here and there at the sides. Across the centre of the boat ran two benches. The Martian crew spoke quietly to each other, and shoved the boat away from the wall of the canal with long oars. Then they settled themselves on the benches and began to row. The boat moved smoothly along, and Gedge wondered if they'd let him take a turn at the oars. It looked like it might be fun, although he thought he might find it arduous once the sun had reached its height. After they had rowed for perhaps half an hour, the light was growing stronger, and Gedge could see that they had left the fort far behind. The light shone from the water, making him feel that they were travelling on a canal of silver. The apparent eldest of the Martians rose from his seat and unrolled the sail, which belled out a little in the morning breeze. He then went to the tiller, leaving two of his comrades still rowing and the fourth to rummage in one of the boxes and bring forth trays upon which he set food. He brought them first to the ladies and then to the Professor and Bracy, finally quietly handing one to Gedge, who looked about for a place he might eat and be out of the way.

'Come and join us, Private Gedge,' said Miss Sharpe in a tone he felt he could not disobey. He sat on a cushion she pushed out for him, feeling anxious. He did not know what to say to her, or to Miss Macquarrie and hoped they would not tire of speaking to Bracy. Alas, he found himself being regarded by Miss Sharpe's bright blue eyes.

'And what is your interest in these antiquarian pursuits, Private Gedge?' she asked abruptly.

'I – I je-jest like them, Miss,' stammered Gedge. 'I learned some Martian, with Lieutenant Bracy, and he said I could come along with you all.' His voice trailed away as he saw Miss Macquarrie regard him in a manner that said she was too well-bred to laugh, even at a rough fellow who thought he had some learning.

'Gedge is remarkably proficient at the language,' said Bracy, warmly. 'He is an admirably hard worker.'

Gedge blushed with pleasure, smiling happily at Bracy, who returned the smile in a carefree manner.

'I hope you are willing to learn more than just the constructions of grammar, Gedge?' asked the Professor, 'for they will avail you little when it is not the logic of a sentence in a foreign tongue that you must unravel, but the logic of artistic representations. Are you familiar with the work of the Assyrians, Gedge?'

'No, sir,' said Gedge in a panic. He had the vaguest thought that they were connected with wolves in some way, but felt wholly unequal to making any comment. He quickly realised that his contribution to the conversation was unneeded, however, as the Professor continued speaking without, as it seemed, noticing that Gedge had spoken at all.

'You will see the same monumental characteristics,' said the Professor, 'the same attention to the detail of the musculature and the ornamentation of the robes. If it were not for the greater size of the Martian eye when one compares it to the human, not to mention the additional digit they bear upon each hand, one would at first think that the art was the product of the same ancient hand. Geographical elements within the scene they also reproduce in the same manner, in a most naive and charming fashion.'

The Professor continued in this vein for some time, as Gedge watched him in interest to see if the man would ever draw breath. He seemed only to need an audience, and to be content to know that people listened to him, without ever needing a response, unless it were to give him an opportunity to discourse further on a minor point.

As the sun's heat increased, the Martians set up an awning for their passengers to take shelter. The ladies withdrew into its shade, and the Professor fell silent at last, quire overcome by the intense heat and glare. Gedge's wakeful night caught up with him at last and his eyes felt heavy and sleepy. He stayed awake as long as he could, but at length, seeing even Bracy's head droop, he gave in and curled up at the edge of the shade, and was asleep before he had even made himself comfortable.

He awoke a long time later with a start, to discover Bracy sitting up beside him, his hand resting on Gedge's shoulder. 'Sir,' he mumbled, struggling into an upright position, 'you're awake.'

'Look,' said Bracy quietly, pointing out over the land. 'How desolate it is! And yet how beautiful!'

Gedge looked at the red crags of rock through which the canal cut, straight as a die. His eye was drawn to small flickers of movement that resolved themselves under his gaze to creatures like sheep, almost as red as the rock, nimbly wandering to and fro high above them. It was a wonderful sight, he thought, feeling himself quite the explorer. He smiled at his folly, for he knew that British people had come down to see this area often, and yet it was so new to him, so far from anything he had dreamed of as a child that he felt himself transformed. He looked eagerly at Bracy, a wide smile upon his face.

'It's lovely, sir!' he said.

Bracy squeezed his shoulder companionably, and the two of them looked at the landscape drifting past. Gedge felt peaceful and happy and gave a broad and delighted grin at the youngest of the Martians, surprising him into smiling back. He wished that the others would stay asleep all day, but it was not long before they were stirring and peering about them.

'Is it much further?' asked Professor Macquarrie, speaking loudly to the Martians.

'No,' one of them said, 'not far.'

'It's so hot out here,' said Miss Macquarrie. 'Can't we have something to drink?'

'Gedge, that's a water barrel,' said Bracy, indicating the item in question. 'Fetch Miss Macquarrie a cup of water, and one for Miss Sharpe too.'

'Yes, sir,' said Gedge, scrambling up. He lifted the lid on the barrel and dipped up a cup of water, placing it on the deck beside him while he filled another. The young Martian silently handed him a tray and some more cups. 'Thank you,' said Gedge, smiling and filled cups for the Professor, Bracy and himself. He took them back to the little group, and sat down again, enjoying the feeling of his throat not being so dry.

Not more than twenty minutes after this the boat drew up at the side of the canal, and the Martians made it fast, securing it with ropes to a great stone ring. There were fine steps leading up the side of the wall, covered in sand that obscured their sharp lines. The Martians steadied the boat as the Professor ran up the steps, disregarding their hands held out to help him. Bracy looked after him, a surprised expression on his face, and turned to Miss Macquarrie, saying, 'May I offer you assistance, Miss Macquarrie?'

'Thank you, Lieutenant Bracy,' she said, taking his arm, and leaning on him as he helped her up the steps.

Miss Sharpe made an annoyed sound, and Gedge nervously cleared his throat. 'Can I give you a hand, Miss Sharpe?' he asked, sounding rather like a boy faced with the most fearsome of his aunts.

'I trust I am not yet incapable of climbing a flight of stairs, young man,' said Miss Sharpe, and swept up the steps before him.

Gedge breathed a sigh of relief and looked around to see the Martians still on board quickly hiding smiles. He grinned cheerfully, picked up Bracy's bag and skipped up the steps himself. At the top he could see the Professor, still running ahead of the others, and Miss Macquarrie still leaning on Bracy's arm, with Miss Sharpe walking beside her. He hurried to catch up, and was stopped by the oldest of the Martians.

'Leave the bag,' said the Martian, 'we will put it in the tents.' He cast an eye over the others and continued, 'do not make things more tiring for yourself in the dry places than need be.'

'Thank you,' said Gedge, and put the bag down. He walked more quickly without it and was soon with the others.

'There is no need to walk quite so slowly,' Miss Sharpe was saying.

'In this heat it is surely better to conserve one's strength,' said Miss Macquarrie, 'don't you think so, Lieutenant Bracy?'

'Most certainly, if one is of a delicate constitution,' said Bracy, 'although it could be argued that staying for a longer period in the direct sunlight argues against a leisurely pace.'

Up ahead, the Professor waved at them frantically and hallooed loudly.

'Ah,' said Bracy, 'I believe your father wishes us to join him with all speed, Miss Macquarrie.'

They all hurried forward to where the Professor stood in a curve of the rock. He swept his arms about him in a dramatic manner, as if he were cast as the villain in a melodrama, and cried, 'Behold!' They looked about them in awe, taking in the massive figures carved on every side of the natural amphitheatre in which they stood. The Martians of the past looked down upon them with their great eyes, and stood in grave or martial stances as they regarded each other. Strange beasts reared up, or were led by halters in procession, while in the topmost register of the carvings, riders on _ayit_ soared serene above the other figures. Rich vegetation of a sort they had seen nowhere formed a backdrop to the scenes; trees hung heavy with fruit, vine like creepers, plants they could not guess at. High up, carved between the _ayit_ , were representations of the celestial bodies, the sun, the moons and the stars. Time and again, Gedge saw the figure he remembered from the entrance hall of the highest tower, with swords drawn and smiting a foe, with arms uplifted towards the heavens, sitting on a throne upheld by richly dressed Martians as wealth was poured out before the throne. Bands of writing separated the scenes, and Gedge looked hard at them, doing his best to decipher the ancient and angular script.

'A most magnificent example of the ancients of the world's skill in figurative art,' cried the Professor. 'See how sensitively the sculptor has depicted the flow of the garments! And the exquisite humour with which he has depicted the beasts of the procession, not to mention the sheer majesty with which he has shown the grandeur of the past kings. Observe this superb example of a manly physique – the strength in the arms, the delicate delineation of the chest and torso, the fine muscling on the legs. This is without a doubt a ritual scene of combat – see how this fine specimen wrestles, apparently without any hardship, with this fell beast, a monster from their legends, I would say. Here is this fellow again, with one of their sheep like animals in his arms – clearly a ritualistic presentation of the need for a king to provide mercy and justice to the poor of his realm. And the text here tells us that –'

'She who bestrides the mountains,' said Gedge, having done his best not to listen as he was concentrating on the text.

The Professor looked at him in surprise, as if he had forgotten that Gedge was there, and frowned.

'No, not at all,' he said. 'This figure is unconnected with the hero, and is moreover male – if what you have read is a name in the first place, it is 'He who bestrides the mountains.' The element 'mountain' is always found with male names, never female. You are quite clearly forming the pronoun incorrectly, although it is indeed a rare thing to find a common soldier who has the slightest interest in such matters. It seems you spoke no more than the truth, Bracy, for a soldier he has an unusual skill.'

Gedge blushed at having made a foolish mistake and hung his head at the rebuke implicit in the Professor's tone. A hand rested briefly on his shoulder and Bracy spoke firmly yet respectfully, saying, 'Why, I had read it that way myself.'

'I assure you, it is an incorrect reading,' said the Professor. 'Barbarians the natives may have been – and indeed some would say still are, although I would not – but can you really imagine them subsisting under female leadership? The Martian ladies are even more passive and timid than our own. I find it impossible to conceive of one of them being as ruthless as the early kings would surely have had to have been.' He waved a hand at the walls, saying, 'Hard, cold science is what is needed here, not flights of fancy about warrior queens.' He looked at the walls in satisfaction and said, 'How I should like to remove these from this far flung and deserted location, and place them in the British Museum, for the whole world to see!'

'But they belong on this world!' cried Gedge passionately.

The Professor frowned at him once more and continued his discourse on the advisability of removing such art from the hands of the natives, who like children left unsupervised with the family silver would use it inappropriately and end by ruining it utterly. Gedge sighed and tried not to listen, but the Professor had an inexhaustible store of opinions on how to best take care of the carvings, what was in them and whether or not the writings had anything to do with the figures, or whether it had been added at a later date. Gedge was utterly glad when at length the little party repaired back some distance to where the crew of the boat had set up two tents for sleeping, one for the men and one for the ladies, and an open sided canopy under which they had erected a table and benches. A smell of cooking rose into the air and soon they were eating a stew of sorts, although it was somewhat too spicy, Gedge thought to merit the name. Throughout the dinner the Professor held forth on one topic or another, such as the impertinence of other nations in attempting to scrabble for a foothold in space, or why Britain should assert its right to the sole governance of Mars and should seize Venus to boot. When he had exhausted this topic he spoke with fervour on the education of the poor and how they could be bettered within two generations, and why there were so many undeserving poor among their number. It was with a sense of relief that Gedge crept into the tent to sleep, only to discover to his horror that the Professor had no intention of falling silent even as the night progressed. The night was well progressed when the man laid his head down at last.

Gedge revelled in the silence, and wished he had not come at all if he had to endure the Professor's views. He felt the beautiful carvings had been quite spoilt and that the Professor had done his best to suck the pleasure away from learning. After lying there thinking in this vein for some time, Gedge rose to his feet and slipped outside as silently as he possibly could. He put on his boots and jogged back to the carvings, marvelling how different they looked in the light of the moons: cold, hard and altogether alien. The rock was as highly polished as in the towers and it gleamed with a soft light. He ran a hand over a band of writing, enjoying feeling how deeply cut it was into the hard red rock. He was seized with the desire to touch as much of the carvings as he could reach, and began running his hands lightly over the surface, feeling the raised figures and the deeply carved details upon them. It felt right, like an act of worship. He stopped, vaguely worried about what the chaplains would think of such a view and then reflected that he would not have to tell them.

After some time he heard the crunch of boots on sand and turned to see Bracy coming toward him.

'Gedge,' said Bracy, 'I awoke and found you gone. I had a feeling I should find you here.'

'Yes, sir,' said Gedge, 'I wanted to see them without being told what I was seeing.'

'Ah,' said Bracy, and looked with pleasure upon the rock. 'They are altogether beautiful, are they not?'

'Lovely, sir,' said Gedge. 'Especially this lady, She Who Bestrides the Mountains.'

Bracy looked at him sidelong and laughed. 'Stubborn Gedge!' he said. 'But I believe you are right. She is the lady we saw before, and she is most certainly not a man. I prefer your interpretation, Gedge. Perhaps she is a goddess, and so may bear a male name?'

'Perhaps he jest got it wrong,' said Gedge in some irritation.

Bracy smiled at him, and bent his gaze back upon the carvings in silence, taking in the graceful trees, the _ayit_ floating high above the world, the serene and unworldly beauty of the faces of the Martians carved upon the rock. He rested a hand on a delicately rendered flower, beside Gedge's hand.

'I am sorry, Gedge,' he said quietly. 'It is so much better like this. We should have come alone. When I can arrange for leave again we can come back.' He looked at Gedge in the white cold light, a little shyly, Gedge thought. 'If, that is,' he continued, 'you would care to do so, of course?'

Gedge smiled brilliantly at him, overjoyed at the thought. 'Oh yes, sir!' he cried. 'I'd like that so much! And could we stay a day or two and explore, jest by ourselves?'

'I don't see why not,' said Bracy, considering. 'Although we would of course have to hire the natives to bring us here, and take care of our needs. But the crew of the boat have most clearly done this before, and are well equipped. I could simply engage them. They are quiet and discreet.' He moved his hand from the wall and put it on Gedge's shoulder. 'Does that sound agreeable?'

'Yes,' said Gedge, looking up at Bracy's face, which was half hidden in shadow. The young officer was looking at him intently and silently, and Gedge felt suddenly as if a hand was holding his lungs closed. 'Yes, sir,' he said. 'I'd like that, very much.'

'I would like it too,' said Bracy softly, an expression almost of puzzlement upon his face.  
He dropped his hand from Gedge's shoulder, and took his hand in a firm grip.

Gedge looked up at him with earnest affection in his eyes, saying, 'When can we do it, sir?'

'As soon as ever I can get us both free of the fort again,' said Bracy quietly. They stood there for several moments. Then, 'Gedge,' whispered Bracy, falling silent once more.

'Sir?' said Gedge as quietly. He looked at the officer's face, which was both joyous and terribly sad at the same time, and wished he could do something to take away the sadness and leave only the joy.

'Ah, the soldiers are no longer missing in action!' cried a voice coming closer. 'I found I had more room to stretch out and thought an evil beast might have crept in to snatch you. I am glad to see you need no rescue!'

'Professor Macquarrie,' said Bracy, turning quickly. 'We did not mean to disturb you, I am most terribly sorry.'

'No, no,' said the Professor. 'I do not sleep as much as I did when I was young. Why have you come to see the carvings now?'

'I jest thought they might look nice in the moonlight,' said Gedge.

The Professor leaned in close to the rock and looked with great interest at the carvings. 'The light seems to show me some added detail,' he said, 'see, if one looks closely one can see the marks left by the tools upon the rock.' And he began to speak about the differing marks left by different types of tools, the average depth to which Martian carvings were cut, at this site and when this was compared to others, the role of the moons in ancient Martian cults and the undoubted existence of a belief in astrology. Gedge felt as if he might cry out in annoyance, and let his ankle turn deliberately under him.

'Ah!' he ejaculated.

'Gedge! Are you all right?' asked Bracy.

'My ankle, sir,' said Gedge, putting all his weight on the other foot.

'Gedge sustained an injury some time again that is not yet fully healed,' explained Bracy. 'I should help him back to rest.'

'Go on, go on,' said the Professor. 'I wish to look at these carvings in a new light, ha-ha!' And he bent all his attention upon the rock.

Bracy put an arm about Gedge's waist and said, 'Lean your weight on me,' walking slowly and painfully along. Even when Gedge tried to walk more normally he found he could not, as Bracy's arm was so tight about him. When they reached the tent they pulled off their boots and scurried inside.

Lying in the dark he heard Bracy's muffled laughter. 'That was very wicked, Gedge,' said Bracy. 'and for me to involve myself in it in any way – appalling!'

'I'm sorry, sir,' said Gedge, 'I jest couldn't take one minute more of that noise.'

'Neither could I,' whispered Bracy, making Gedge laugh. 'Shh! Shh! You'll wake the ladies,' said Bracy. 'Goodnight, Gedge,' he whispered.

'Goodnight, sir,' said Gedge, and softly took Bracy's hand in his. Bracy curled his fingers around Gedge's and soon Gedge heard his breathing quieten in sleep. Closing his eyes, he fell into a deep and peaceful slumber also, his dreams blessedly quiet.


	20. Chapter 20

**In which Bracy and Roberts go hunting.**

 

Life was quite back to normal in the fort, and the men of the 404th found themselves with little to do outside their daily duties and the Doctor's regimes of exercises. Although they had complained so much on the Moon, the men did not complain so often about the exercises any more, remembering the battle and how they had seemed so much stronger than the Martians. The exploits of the officers in particular had grown with every retelling by the men, and by now all the private soldiers were convinced that they had witnessed Roberts cut a Martian's head clean off his shoulders, and that Bracy had outrun the entire enemy force while half-carrying Gedge.

'I was the one as was there. He didn't carry me,' said Gedge in protest.

'Thought as you'd have been glad for him to be such a hero,' said Fred wickedly.

'Give over,' muttered Gedge in embarrassment.

Having free time, the soldiers played cards and sang, and went into New London every chance they got to spend their winnings and their wages. The shopkeepers, both British folk and Martians, were more than happy to relieve them of their money, and the men's collections of souvenirs grew and their cash diminished.

Gedge was readmitted to Drummond's programme of training with the _ayit_. He found, however, that he was very far behind all the others, and had to learn almost everything all over again. He was resigned to this, having told himself that this should be the case, but he discovered that Drummond seemed most unwilling to see any good in him. For most of the time he was left in the care of various Martian flyers, not seeing his comrades in the programme from one training session to the next until he feared he should never catch up with them. Lieutenant Drummond would come sometimes and watch him, then shake his head and say that he did not understand why Lieutenant Bracy had been so eager to have him readmitted. He said this in a way that made it clear that Gedge had been taken back as a favour to Bracy but that Bracy's judgement was being called into question. At first, Gedge tried to do better, to change the officer's views on him. After a little, he realised that Drummond's disdain was directed more at Bracy than at him, and that in fact every complaint Drummond had against him was in fact a sly comment on Bracy's capabilities. Gedge was embarrassed and angry on Bracy's behalf, but could do nothing. His every effort was belittled, his every step of progress ignored. Neither could Gedge relieve his feelings by complaining in his turn. He knew better than to mention such a thing to his friends, and it was impossible to discuss such a thing with Bracy.

With all his heart, Gedge wished he could either do well enough to train with the others once more, or that he could withdraw entirely. He thought that Drummond would find that satisfying, however, and that Bracy would be disappointed in him, so he persevered. To his Martian trainers he spoke in their own tongue, feeling that at least he could become more proficient in one area of training. Their pleasure in finding a British soldier who preferred to speak to them in their own language, and who would patiently accept correction was plain, and he found pleasure in it also, when he met with Bracy to study and could show his progress. The smiles and praise he received from Bracy assuaged his misery over the way he was treated by Drummond. He longed for the day that Bracy could arrange for leave, when he would not have to see any other officer for some days. It could not come too soon for him, he thought.

 

* * *

 

Bracy, meanwhile, found his time taken up with meetings between the dignitaries of the city and the officers of the fort. Not a great deal of damage had been done by the Martian force, and what had been done had in fact been repaired. The city's population, however, felt most aggrieved that the Army had not safeguarded their property as well as their lives and would, if they had been allowed, have met with the officers every day to complain and demand restitution. In vain it was explained to them that New London was a city wholly unsuited to the kind of defence they had decided should have been made available, being too spacious in its plan, too sprawling in its size and completely without city walls. When the city men complained that the Army should have told them of this before civilian colonists had chosen the city to settle in, they were reminded of the many papers and reports on the warlike nature of the natives, and the smaller and more defensible settlements that had been proposed, all of which had been turned down by the first colonists in favour of the splendour and grace of New London. Nothing, however, assuaged their feelings of grievance.

'I should very much like to get away from the fort for a few days,' sighed Bracy to Roberts, after a day in which he had been besieged by shopkeepers. 'I think it's most unfair the way that these people are handed down from officer to officer until they reach me.'

'You could pass them on to the sergeants,' laughed Roberts, laughing all the more at the exasperated way in which his friend looked upon him. 'Come now, old man,' he continued, 'surely you do not begrudge me taking one little advantage of rank? Besides, you are so good with these people. Not like me, I fear I should yawn at their complaints and offend them.' He relit his pipe and smiled at Bracy fondly. 'I think I have found a way to relieve your tedium; Drummond tells me there is good hunting to be had in the hills to the east, with those wild sheep-things and a sort of cat that preys upon them. We'll take some of his men as servants, and have a fine week of it, what do you say?'

'That sounds very fine,' smiled Bracy. 'Will it be cooler in the hills? And let's not just take some of the natives along, I must arrange leave also for –'

'No,' said Roberts shortly.

'I beg your pardon?' said Bracy, in a slight confusion at having been cut off in such a brusque manner.

'Just the natives,' said Roberts, 'who will know how to act as beaters and who will know the area. You can practice your Martian lessons on them. I will too, if it will make you laugh. Leave him behind for once, Bracy,' he said, a hard glint in his eye. 'He will still be here when you get back.'

'Rob?' asked Bracy, 'What is this about?'

'I should simply like to spend some time with a chap who says he's my friend,' said Roberts lightly. 'I scarcely see you, Bracy. I quite begin to feel that you prefer your little Private to me.'

'Rob!' said Bracy. 'Why, what is this? You cannot be jealous of poor Gedge!'

'Jealous?' said Roberts, 'Who said anything about jealousy? _I_ am your friend, _he_ is your subordinate. Is that not the case?'

Bracy looked at him, troubled, and thought of the trip to the ancient carvings, remembering the wild emotion that had come over him as he looked at Gedge, when for a moment it had seemed that he understood a great secret. He no longer knew what it was that he had felt, the understanding that had seemed so clear by silent moonlight melting away in the harsh sunlight and the mundane needs of their daily lives.

'Well, but he will be disappointed,' said Bracy, capitulating.

'You have made a pet of him,' said Roberts, smiling cheerfully to have got his way. 'I don't deny he's a cheery little monkey, but it will do him good to see you going off without him. And a trip into the hills will do you a great deal of good too, why it will quite blow the cobwebs from your mind. We shall bag some of these cat-things, and have their skins strewn under our feet as if we were native princes!'

Bracy gave him a broad and carefree smile, knowing that Roberts would not look beyond it, having achieved the result he wanted. In his own mind, he fretted, thinking how unhappy Gedge would be to hear of this. 'Ah, Rob was right all along,' he thought unhappily. 'I making a favourite of Gedge! I should help him better himself without forming such an attachment to him. It is not good for him, and besides, he must think me very queer to spend leisure time with him. I am keeping him from his own friends, the poor lad. He will be glad to be free of me for a time, I am sure of it.'

All the same, he felt strangely guilty to tell Gedge that he was leaving the fort without him, and took great pains to make sure the lad knew that this was because of the knowledge possessed by the native soldiers, and due to no fault in Gedge.

'But I could take better care of you, sir,' said Gedge, 'and if one of them wild cats sprang at you, I could shoot it! I've a good eye for fast shootin', sir, even old Gee says that – I mean, Sergeant Gee has commended my skill at marksmanship, sir.'

'I shan't need you, Gedge,' said Bracy, hardening his heart as he saw the lad's face fall. 'Come now, my lad,' he continued, 'it will be a holiday for you, away from the grammar books and me correcting you.'

'I don't mind that,' said Gedge in a low voice.

'I will be gone only for a week,' said Bracy gaily, although in his heart he felt quite low. 'And then I will be correcting you once more. Really, Gedge, do not look so glum!' He paused and spoke more kindly, saying, 'I know you must think I have forgotten you, going off in this way, but Captain Roberts is very much looking forward to this. I am sorry not to have taken you back to look at the carvings and to explore, but we will go, Gedge. It will just be at a later time than I had thought.'

Gedge smiled wanly at him, whispering, 'Yes, sir.' Bracy smiled at him once more, and put his hands firmly behind his back, discovering in himself a desire to place a hand upon the boy's shoulder or to touch his cheek to console him, he looked so dreadfully sad. He instead nodded politely and turned away, thinking that Gedge would cheer up once he had left.

Three days later he left the fort, with Roberts. They travelled first to the great _ayit_ stables, where they were to meet with Drummond. The tall, thin officer was very excited and could not quite keep his accent from betraying his heritage as he chattered to Roberts about the high time they would have.

'Wait until you see our transport!' he laughed. 'You can both ride, I trust?'

'Yes,' said Roberts, 'of course.'

'I have always found Rob to be an expert rider,' said Bracy.

Drummond grinned widely. 'Two of my men,' he cried, 'are brothers, and the sons of a native gentleman. He is lending us some of his animals, come and see!' He led them to the furthest building, where some of the native soldiers could be seen piling equipment neatly. At his command they stacked everything into a cart, and brought out an ugly beast to pull it. Then another two Martians, both sergeants, brought them into the building and showed them great scaled creatures of the sort on which the enemy Martians had ridden. 'They are called _dov_ s,' said Drummond. 'And these men are accompanying us, the sons of the gentleman who has lent us these mounts. Their Christian names are Barnabas and Luke – altogether easier to remember than the native manner of naming!'

They set out shortly thereafter, the British officers balancing with caution upon their new mounts, while the Martians, Barnabas and Luke, rode easily behind them. Then came the cart with their supplies and another three men of the native regiment to act as servants and beaters. Bracy smiled cheerfully at Drummond's high spirits, but inwardly felt aggrieved, as it became clearer and clearer that Drummond had brought the native sergeants along not as servants, because he particularly favoured them. It was galling to find that favouritism was not so great a sin if practised by another man. As the day wore on, however, his spirits lifted and he found himself enjoying the unaccustomed movement of the _dov_ beneath him. It was very different to a horse, having a lazy sort of roll to its shoulders. The indolent stride, however, was only apparent, as he realised when calculating how far they had come. He laughed in sheerest pleasure as the Martians, at Drummond's urging, spurred their mounts to speed, leaning over their necks and calling out warlike cries to them. The beasts scurried forward in a way that was almost comical until Bracy remembered what it had been like to see a wave of them coming at his men, their claws sheathed in shining metal.

By the morning of the second day they were rising up into the foothills, and the Martians were looking about them with pleasure, pointing out plants and creatures they seemed to think the officers should find of interest. Bracy smiled up into the pale sky and thought how much Gedge would have liked to spend some days with Martians eager to tell him of their world. 'I should find out something to tell him,' he thought, and began to engage the Martians in conversation about the land through which they were passing. They laughed and competed in telling him of sprites and goblins that lived in the dry places to play tricks on travellers. 'But you do not believe these tales for children?' he asked, thinking that he wished some of the droller ones written down for Gedge to practice reading.

'No, indeed, sir,' said Luke. 'Such things do not exist.'

'Only those still in darkness believe such tales,' said Barnabas, who was very like his brother, so like that Bracy supposed them to be twins.

'Oh!' said Bracy, suddenly thinking he might have caused offence, 'when I speak in your tongue, do you wish me to use your native names?'

'No, sir,' said Luke. 'We prefer our English names. Our family is Christian, unlike the devil worshippers of other tribes.'

'Please speak English if you prefer,' said Barnabas, 'Lieutenant Drummond always speaks in English, and we have learned it from our childhood.'

Bracy smiled at them and fell to discussing the creatures they should hunt. Ahead of them he could hear snatches of the conversation between Drummond and Roberts, which also seemed to be on the topic of hunting. Behind them the other soldiers spoke quietly to each other. If he listened carefully, Bracy thought he could make out their conversation also, and noted that while they had all been indicated as bearing Christian names of an ordinary English sort, among themselves they used other names while speaking in their native tongue, although Luke and Barnabas never did.

That night they camped in the hills and drank spiced coffee as the light faded all around them. Even Roberts drank it without complaining, Bracy noted in amusement, and then he fell asleep quickly in the fresh clear air. The next morning they ranged round on foot, seeking tracks and followed the all but invisible marks that one of the soldiers assured them would lead to wild game. They crept along and finally, up above them, saw some of the nervous creatures that seemed to the British officers rather like the wild sheep such as are found in the high places of Earth, with wild yellow eyes and curved yellowish horns. The coats of these were a rich reddish brown, and they sprang from rock to rock with an easy grace, their little hooves nimbly skipping. It took some time and patience for them to work themselves into position for shooting, as the sheep-like creatures were most suspicious and looked about them at the slightest sound. At last the young men had clear shots, and having drawn straws for the first shot, Drummond sighted carefully and squeezed the trigger. At the crack of his rifle, the creatures sprang away, fleeing over paths invisible to all other creatures. Drummond's target, a fine male with a most impressive pair of curving horns, fell down lifeless on a ledge. Two of the natives were dispatched to fetch it down as Bracy and Roberts congratulated Drummond on his shot. They saw no more game that day, however, and moved their camp in the afternoon so that they might come upon a fresh area on the morrow.

By the end of the next day, both Roberts and Bracy had also shot fine trophies, and Bracy was wondering how it was that he had been spending so little time with Roberts of late. It seemed as if it had been a very long time since they had laughed over memories of friends left behind on Earth who had found themselves in positions in the Imperial colonies on Earth, or who had never left England at all. He rather regretted Drummond's presence, as Roberts would keep stopping the talk to explain who their friends were, and where they had met them. And Drummond was annoying to him in other ways, laughing at Roberts' witticisms, but rarely at his, and, much to Bracy's irritation, making fun of the men of the 404th who were involved in the flying training by speaking in their manner.

'Come now, Drummond,' he said, 'they are rough but they are good men, honest and brave.'

'Oh, Drummond, beware!' laughed Roberts. 'For now you have aroused in Bracy the urge to speak on the betterment of the enlisted ranks and how it is unbecoming to think their manner of speech in any way comical!'

'Why, Bracy is but more inured to it than other gentlemen,' said Drummond. 'Do you not take lessons in how to speak like a private soldier, Bracy?'

Both he and Roberts laughed as Bracy struggled not to let his anger show. 'I hardly think that this is a good way in which to speak in front of the men,' he said stiffly. 'I for one do not find it amusing to mock decent soldiers.'

'Oh, Bracy,' said Roberts, 'do not be so humourless. No one is mocking the men. You look for insult where – what was that?'

The noise came again, a low creaking cough that sounded strangely in the night air. The Martians leaped to their feet in excitement.

'It is a _namar_ ,' cried Barnabas, and the other Martians held up their hands and muttered.

'What is that?' cried Roberts, his eyes shining.

'Yes, what?' asked Drummond.

'What is wrong with the men?' asked Bracy.

'It is the beast you have been calling a _cat_ ,' said Barnabas.

'They want us to say _Shining One_ ,' said Luke, 'for although they are Christians they are very bad ones, and think that saying the creature's name will bring it down upon us.'

'Quickly! It will elude us!' cried Roberts, catching up his weapon.

The little party left the camp and crept through the night, hearing again the cough of the _namar_. The ground was rough, and the light from the moons was dim, yet the Martians had but little difficulty in creeping along, while the British officers found it more difficult. Bracy took a mean satisfaction in hearing a swallowed oath from Drummond as the Scottish officer stubbed his toe against a rock.

'See!' whispered one of the Martian soldiers, indicating the barest of marks on the ground. 'It has come this way.'

They moved on, not speaking, hardly breathing for fear of alerting the beast to their presence. Bracy felt his heart race, and he tightened his grip on his gun. Then there was a growl, low and fearsome, to their right and above them. Bracy looked up at the Martians' urging and saw a pair of eyes gleaming in the darkness. There was the suggestion of movement, as if the beast were lashing its tail back and forth in fury. As he watched, his eyes began to pick out more details, and he saw the creature was astride one of the sheep, whose lifeless head hung down from a ledge. It was enormous, he realised, at least twelve feet long, with a huge head and paws the size of dinner plates.

'We have disturbed it at dinner,' murmured Roberts, slowly and carefully bringing his weapon to bear on the _namar_. 'Come on, now. Let me get a good shot at you.'

The _namar_ shifted and snarled, showing them its fearsome teeth. Then it suddenly seemed to decide it should cede them the field, and moved backwards. Roberts groaned in frustration and lowered his rifle. At that very moment the beast sprang forward from its ledge, aiming, so it seemed to pass over their heads and make its escape up the opposite rocks. Roberts brought his rifle up again, smooth and fast, firing upwards as the creature's belly showed white above them. It screamed most fearfully, and one of the Martians shrieked in alarm. The _namar_ scrabbled for a moment at the rocks for which it had jumped, then it tumbled back, dead and limp to fall on the ground almost at Roberts' feet. Its huge size was obvious as it lay before them, as was the quality of its coat, a glossy spotted and mottled mass of shining fur.

'A splendid shot, Rob!' cried Bracy, embracing his friend in excitement.

'Marvellous, marvellous!' said Drummond.

The Martians made a singsong cheering noise, and picked up the _namar_ to bring it back to the camp. It was a happy little group that trooped back and built up the fire again, drinking more coffee and talking late into the night. When morning came the officers examined the _namar_ with glee, and both Bracy and Drummond clapped Roberts on the shoulder time and again. The creature was a deep golden colour, the spots and mottles being of various shades from the lightest of yellows to the deepest coffee-brown. It had large sharp teeth and claws and a most magnificent tail, which was tipped with fur of the palest apricot.

'Have you ever seen anything like it?' asked Roberts in astonishment. 'I think I need never hear my uncle's tales of shooting lion in awe again!'

'A trophy to be proud of!' said Drummond. He looked slyly sidelong at Bracy, continuing, 'If we _may_ be proud of such a gentlemanly pursuit, Bracy?'

Bracy ignored him and stroked the beast's fur, thinking how handsome it was. Drummond snickered over his head, saying, 'Perhaps we can have the men organise a dog-race to amuse you once we return.'

'Have I offended you in some way, Drummond?' asked Bracy, standing up.

'Why, no,' said Drummond, feigning amazement, 'I was merely making a pleasantry.'

'Now, let us not quarrel,' said Roberts, frowning.

'Indeed, no,' cried Drummond at once. 'How touchy he is!' he murmured.

'Let him be,' murmured Roberts in as quiet a voice.

Bracy looked at him, wanting to cry out, 'Rob! Do you take his part over mine?' He remained silent, however, and set to cleaning his rifle, thinking only as he started that it might look as if he were sulking but being too proud to go over to where Drummond was now speaking quietly and confidentially to Roberts, his hand resting companionably on Roberts' shoulder. He angrily stripped his rifle and cleaned every part of it, wishing that Gedge were there. He should not be so angry if Gedge were there, he thought. He would have to set a good example.

They did not see another _namar_ before they had to return to the fort, although each of the young officers bagged more game, including a strange, tall bird with tiny wings that ran very fast. It seemed to them like an ostrich, only many times the size, and its feet were fearsome things that would have served to disembowel even a beast as large as the _namar_. They straggled back into the fort on foot, having left the _dov_ behind in the buildings where the flying programme was centred. Their cartload of trophies had also been left there, to be collected by the servants of Luke and Barnabas' family, who would dress the skins for them. Bracy was very glad to see Drummond walk off towards his own house, saying he would surely die if he did not have an immediate bath. Roberts gave him a weary smile and led the way back to their house. As Bracy went along he looked around, without saying to himself that he was in search of anything in particular. At last he saw that which he looked for and grinned as Gedge looked over and waved cheerily in his direction. 'Too familiar,' he thought, and then, 'thank heavens. No dissembling in Gedge, at least,' and he raised his own hand and waved back, laughing quietly to see the joy shining from the lad's face.

'Did you say something, old chap?' asked Roberts in exhaustion.

'Not a word, Rob, not a word,' said Bracy in satisfaction. His heart was lighter than it had been in days. He felt like he had come home at last.


End file.
